Trump’s Draft Executive Order on Big Pharma isn’t the remedy the Public needs!
There has been a draft release Executive Order without a date, but planned for June 2017 by the Trump Administration. The United States Government and soon the American Health Care Act (AHCA) or the Trump Care is run through the Senate after the amendments for the law after the vote in the Representatives House. So it seems like the Trump Administration trying to patch the ill-will and the gained reputation for draconian laws with a medicine and a remedy. Still, if people cannot afford health care plans or afford health-care insurance, what help is in making medicine and pills cheaper. When you cannot afford to get to the doctor, what help is that the pills and medicine cost less. Needs help from the doctor to find the needed treatment. That is simple, but forgotten math by the Republicans and the Congress these days. Not like President Trump understands that, unless tanning became more expensive for him.
While we’re at it, let’s look into major quotes from the Draft Executive Order:
“Section 1 Policy:
b) Reduce burdens caused by regulatory and administrative actions that inflate or distort prices for beneficiaries of Federal health programs or that provide more favorable pricing for intermediate actors in the medical product supply chain than the prices available to beneficiaries” (Executive Order, 2017).
So the Trump Administration plans to put down the prices and control the prices of medicine. It is special that the Administration cares about the Federal Health Programs, when the new TrumpCare laws want to relief the state of Medicaid and other supplementary subsidized programs through the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA) or ObamaCare. Health Care News Emily Kopp: “This probably refers to the 340B program, which provides hospitals that serve low-income patients with a discount on intravenous drugs, anti-nausea drugs for cancer patients and some other outpatient drugs. Donald Trump’s interagency working group on drug prices has weighed scaling back the 340B program, KHN reported earlier this month. Critics say the discounts don’t truly benefit patients, including PhRMA, the influential pharmaceutical lobby” (Kopp, 2017). Certainly, the repeal will make sure these sort of programs get phased out as well as the pricing on the Health Care plans that the citizens has to get through insurance companies. But this draft plans to take it further do.
“c) Facilitate, where appropriate, the ability of Federal health programs to enter into reimbursement arrangements for medical products that are based on the value of such products to patients rather than the volume of such products purchased” (Executive Order, 2017).
That the State will have value-based pricing, which means that the States and Federal Government have decided prices depending on the needs and than that the patients has to cover the cost of the medicine. Which is a nice idea, but I am skeptical as before, since the reality doesn’t change, even if the State and Federal Government can control the buying-in and the prices of it. The rising prices of insurance under new law will not be helped by this remedy. Neither is this too.
“d) Ensure that the laws intended to help lower-income or vulnerable Americans and strengthen the safety net healthcare providers that serve them are carried out in such a way, that the benefits of such programs accrue primarily to the intended populations, including by the rescinding or revising of regulatory or administrative actions” (Executive Order, 2017).
This here is main reason for it in a way, if the Trump Administration did care, but if they though the world works like that and these provisions would change the ways of buying-in and research of medicine would change. Still, Health Care News Emily Kopp says this: “This probably refers to the 340B program, which provides hospitals that serve low-income patients with a discount on intravenous drugs, anti-nausea drugs for cancer patients and some other outpatient drugs. Donald Trump’s interagency working group on drug prices has weighed scaling back the 340B program, KHN reported earlier this month. Critics say the discounts don’t truly benefit patients, including PhRMA, the influential pharmaceutical lobby” (Kopp, 2017).
Again, Trump Presidency has to be self involved and not understanding the world order, therefore, this had to be inside the EO: “e) Ensure that American citizens do not disproportionately subsidize medical product innovation for the rest of the world, or allow foreign governments to unfairly devalue American innovation” (Executive Order, 2017). Again, let me quote Emily Kopp: “The Trump administration is making the implicit argument that longer monopoly rights for drugs and higher drug costs in foreign markets will lead to lower prices in the U.S. Not so, according to James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International” (Kopp, 2017). So, in Alice in Wonderland, this sort of provision might work, even in Narnia, but I am sure it has the same effect as Wall towards Mexico or the sudden love for Solar Panel on the wall, which is insane in it self. That Trump Administration believes in this wouldn’t surprise anyone and that Sean Spicer would defend it would be field day for journalists.
Las piece of the Executive Order, that I will put forward is this one: “f) Rescind, revise or simplify regulations and other administrative actions that inappropriately or unfairly contribute to higher prices or cost-sharing for medical products for American patients” (Executive Order, 2017). Just as before, kind of hard to get lower prices if the repealing of Obama-Care law gets into effect. It like thinking you get lower cost, when the insurance sky-rockets and the 1 percent of American citizens get a giant tax-break. The relief again would only suit the ones without already hard-earned pockets, the rich would earn more and the R&D of medical suppliers would secure more funding. This would not earn the citizens in the United States.
This is maybe why this law hasn’t been signed and hasn’t been enacted, as the Senate are working on their bill and this would counter it. Secondly, the lesser prices for medicines wouldn’t help the provisions in the new Health Care law. United States would really be a place for the wealthy and the poor would suffer more. That is reality of the Health Care bill that the Senate are putting forward. This Executive Order wouldn’t help, but be a field day for the Big Pharma to get new system for subsidized medicine, so the people wouldn’t feel this. Unless, the Health Care plans inside the Senate bill would actually serve the public and not just the wealthy. Peace.
Reference:
Donald J. Trump – ‘Executive Order – REDUCING THE COST OF MEDICAL PRODUCTS AND ENHANCING AMERICAN BIOMEDICAL INNOVATION’ (Draft Paper for June 2017).
