Dead by shortage of $50

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

http://glasstire.com/2017/03/20/rip-sha ... t-houston/

This man died because his GoFundMe page fell $50 short of the goal he needed to get his insulin.
Drug companies in the US have used the fact that insulin is necessary for life as a >>justification<< for keeping the price so high.

[Admiral X]

You understand the principles of supply and demand, right? With something like insulin, the demand is always going to be as high as the number of diabetic people who need it, so can't be changed. So the only way to decrease cost will be the supply portion of that, and even given that, there is a built in cost of production, and any companies that want to toss their hat in the ring are going to have to worry about not only just squeaking by on their own costs, but also making some money for themselves. So many self-declared socialists seem to lose sight of that.

[Wild_Kraken]

You understand the principles of supply and demand, right? With something like insulin, the demand is always going to be as high as the number of diabetic people who need it, so can't be changed. So the only way to decrease cost will be the supply portion of that, and even given that, there is a built in cost of production, and any companies that want to toss their hat in the ring are going to have to worry about not only just squeaking by on their own costs, but also making some money for themselves. So many self-declared socialists seem to lose sight of that.

Economics isn't really the issue here at all because pretty much every other high-income nation can provide healthcare to their citizens. What is the issue here, is that America refuses to do so. The whole point of forming complex societies is the mutual benefit to its members. Otherwise there would be no reason for individuals to not just live isolated lives in the wilderness. America, with its inability to provide for its members, is in essence a failed state.

[Madner Kami]

Use the funds from the GoFundMe, buy gun, rob stores, buy insuline to survive. Clever investment-strategies. The american dream. I'm certain our ultra-free market-acolytes can get behind that.

[PerrySimm]

Insulin is not that expensive to make. Other countries don't get cheap insulin with socialism, Americans suffer it due to protectionism. The unusually high price of insulin in America is a result of artificial scarcity. FDA licencing procedures for new market entrants are expensive and uncertain. Free trade in pharmaceuticals (importing medicines) is effectively banned.

Bolstered by this and the present model for private insurance makes it possible for well-positioned players to jack up prices for no reason - something that in former years might have been called price-fixing and heavily prosecuted.

[ORCACommander]

don't forget he current patent system makes it absurdly long for generics to enter the market to "bring down" the cost.

The "healthcare" system of this country is completely corrupt. Its time to hit it with a hammer and make it a an element of public good again.

[PlasmaHam]

The US medical-supply market is not a free-market, that's about as ridiculous as claiming that the DPRK is actually a democracy. Regulations enforced by the FDA makes putting new drugs to market an expensive and time-consuming endeavor without any guarantees.This especially hurts the smaller drug manufacturers, who don't have the monetary backing to survive such. This allows drug companies to sell at ridiculous prices, because they need to make back all that lost in FDA testing, and because there is such a limited amount of competitors in the market.

[Steve]

On the other hand, those regulations are meant to protect potential patients from pharma companies rushing medications with harmful side-effects into pharmacies.

[Madner Kami]

The US medical-supply market is not a free-market, that's about as ridiculous as claiming that the DPRK is actually a democracy. Regulations enforced by the FDA makes putting new drugs to market an expensive and time-consuming endeavor without any guarantees.This especially hurts the smaller drug manufacturers, who don't have the monetary backing to survive such. This allows drug companies to sell at ridiculous prices, because they need to make back all that lost in FDA testing, and because there is such a limited amount of competitors in the market.

Lifting regulations that are supposed to protect the people, is not the answer on how to get good drugs to where they are needed. If at all, that leads to more drugs delivered to more people that have no need for them, gain no benefit and, more often then not, make everything worse.

[PlasmaHam]

The US medical-supply market is not a free-market, that's about as ridiculous as claiming that the DPRK is actually a democracy. Regulations enforced by the FDA makes putting new drugs to market an expensive and time-consuming endeavor without any guarantees.This especially hurts the smaller drug manufacturers, who don't have the monetary backing to survive such. This allows drug companies to sell at ridiculous prices, because they need to make back all that lost in FDA testing, and because there is such a limited amount of competitors in the market.

Lifting regulations that are supposed to protect the people, is not the answer on how to get good drugs to where they are needed. If at all, that leads to more drugs delivered to more people that have no need for them, gain no benefit and, more often then not, make everything worse.

Sorry, but I fail to see the logic here. FDA rules and regulations are notorious even compared to those of other developed countries. Having regulations regarding safe medicine is fine, but there is a such thing as too many regulations for your own good.