The Conflict with Capitalism and Our Healthcare
Jul 23, 2018 08:31:16 #
Investigation: Patients' Drug Options Under Medicaid Heavily Influenced By Drugmakers
July 18, 20185:00 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
"This is a business. And they would only be investing in this if it yielded returns."
Warner Chilcott, which is now owned by Allergan, was trying to beat one of the few mechanisms set up by state Medicaid agencies to hold down drug costs for taxpayers and ensure safety for patients.
How we investigated drugmakers' influence over Medicaid
The Center for Public Integrity began investigating the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on state Medicaid programs eight months ago. Prescription medications under those programs cost states tens of billions of dollars annually. The cost nearly doubled between 2008 and 2016
For more details on the methodology, see the description at CPI's website.
Medicaid, which uses state and federal tax dollars to pay for health care for 76 million poor or disabled Americans, tries to ensure that patients get drugs that work the best and yet are also affordable. States put those drugs on what they call "preferred drug lists."
While Medicaid must pay for nearly all drugs by law, states can make it harder to get more expensive or less effective drugs by requiring doctors to fill out cumbersome administrative paperwork to prescribe those not on the preferred lists.
Warner Chilcott's practices were particularly brazen and even illegal because the employees submitted false information to states. It pleaded guilty to felony health care fraud and agreed in 2015 to pay $125 million in civil and criminal fines. Allergan declined to comment.
A Center for Public Integrity and NPR investigation found drug companies have infiltrated nearly every part of the process that determines how their drugs will be covered by taxpayers: giving free dinners, consulting gigs and paying for state Medicaid officials to attend all-inclusive conferences where they can mingle with drug representatives.
Drugmakers use other tactics to get their products paid for by the Medicaid programs: lobbying state lawmakers to achieve their goals or helping doctors fill out extra paperwork to get Medicaid to pay for the costlier drugs as Warner Chilcott did. The result is that Medicaid sometimes spends more than necessary and may pay for medicines inappropriate for patients.
An example:
Enriching the decision-makers
Dr. Mohamed Ramadan volunteers on the 16-member Arizona committee that decides the state's list of preferred drugs.
He also earned more than $700,000 since 2013 from drug companies, federal data show, a healthy supplement to his $259,000 salary as a psychiatrist at a mental health clinic.
Some of the drugmakers' payments to Ramadan came in the form of lunches, dinners, travel, and consulting fees. But the bulk of it — more than $500,000 — was compensation for work such as speaking at events promoting certain drugs. Pharmaceutical companies paid Ramadan for these types of events 333 times over four and a half years — an average of more than once a week.
When we have profit over the welfare of its citizens, without regulations or laws to prevent the tilting of the scales towards more to the benefit of the industry, we have a very real problem. Do you agree?
Feel free to read more at: http://www.publicintegrity.org/2018/07/18/21953/how-we-investigated-drugmakers-influence-over-medicaid
July 18, 20185:00 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
"This is a business. And they would only be investing in this if it yielded returns."
Warner Chilcott, which is now owned by Allergan, was trying to beat one of the few mechanisms set up by state Medicaid agencies to hold down drug costs for taxpayers and ensure safety for patients.
How we investigated drugmakers' influence over Medicaid
The Center for Public Integrity began investigating the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on state Medicaid programs eight months ago. Prescription medications under those programs cost states tens of billions of dollars annually. The cost nearly doubled between 2008 and 2016
For more details on the methodology, see the description at CPI's website.
Medicaid, which uses state and federal tax dollars to pay for health care for 76 million poor or disabled Americans, tries to ensure that patients get drugs that work the best and yet are also affordable. States put those drugs on what they call "preferred drug lists."
While Medicaid must pay for nearly all drugs by law, states can make it harder to get more expensive or less effective drugs by requiring doctors to fill out cumbersome administrative paperwork to prescribe those not on the preferred lists.
Warner Chilcott's practices were particularly brazen and even illegal because the employees submitted false information to states. It pleaded guilty to felony health care fraud and agreed in 2015 to pay $125 million in civil and criminal fines. Allergan declined to comment.
A Center for Public Integrity and NPR investigation found drug companies have infiltrated nearly every part of the process that determines how their drugs will be covered by taxpayers: giving free dinners, consulting gigs and paying for state Medicaid officials to attend all-inclusive conferences where they can mingle with drug representatives.
Drugmakers use other tactics to get their products paid for by the Medicaid programs: lobbying state lawmakers to achieve their goals or helping doctors fill out extra paperwork to get Medicaid to pay for the costlier drugs as Warner Chilcott did. The result is that Medicaid sometimes spends more than necessary and may pay for medicines inappropriate for patients.
An example:
Enriching the decision-makers
Dr. Mohamed Ramadan volunteers on the 16-member Arizona committee that decides the state's list of preferred drugs.
He also earned more than $700,000 since 2013 from drug companies, federal data show, a healthy supplement to his $259,000 salary as a psychiatrist at a mental health clinic.
Some of the drugmakers' payments to Ramadan came in the form of lunches, dinners, travel, and consulting fees. But the bulk of it — more than $500,000 — was compensation for work such as speaking at events promoting certain drugs. Pharmaceutical companies paid Ramadan for these types of events 333 times over four and a half years — an average of more than once a week.
When we have profit over the welfare of its citizens, without regulations or laws to prevent the tilting of the scales towards more to the benefit of the industry, we have a very real problem. Do you agree?
Feel free to read more at: http://www.publicintegrity.org/2018/07/18/21953/how-we-investigated-drugmakers-influence-over-medicaid
Jul 23, 2018 08:56:17 #
Morgan wrote:
b Investigation: Patients' Drug Options Under Med... (show quote)
The problem is not Capitalism. The problem is cronyism and corrupt politicians taking big pharma $$$$.
Jul 23, 2018 09:20:54 #
vettelover wrote:
Don't forget Big Lawyer.The problem is not Capitalism. The problem is cronyism and corrupt politicians taking big pharma $$$$.
Jul 23, 2018 09:50:43 #
vettelover wrote:
The problem is not Capitalism. The problem is cronyism and corrupt politicians taking big pharma $$$$.
Amen and Amen
Jul 23, 2018 11:06:57 #
Bad Bob
Loc: Virginia
vettelover wrote:
The problem is not Capitalism. The problem is cronyism and corrupt politicians taking big pharma $$$$.
Why your problem with only taking big pharma $$$$?
Jul 23, 2018 12:06:39 #
Big Pharma, Big Healthcare, Big Insurance, Big Government, Big Industry, and Big Banking are one BIG BUSINESS CONGLOMERATE. The world is no more than a stage where these Deep State Operatives (Actors) perform for their audience, "We The Sheeple!" It is one "Magnificent FARCE" that they have us believing "it's for our own good" or " it's for the greater good" and if we don't believe their bullshit we can either be reprogrammed or recycled.
I believe maybe we should come up with a more descriptive term to tie it all together: " World Population Management," under a One World Order of course.
Like any other "Non-Profit" organization, all the surplus revenues (profits) are skimmed off as salaries and bonuses to line the pockets of of the top dogs so the books reflect no profits. Teams of magicians (lawyers) are paid to make these "books" (their financial shell game) so complex and complicated that nobody but the top insiders can follow (interpret) the "slight of hand bookkeeping" (money laundering, company name shifting, and other deceptive tactics) their accounting illusionists use to distract their gullible audience, us. It is all just one big "game show" production.
The Big Question is: After all the "Expendables" or "Deplorables" have been "Expended", just who the Hell will end up being the "Game Host of the World?"
I believe maybe we should come up with a more descriptive term to tie it all together: " World Population Management," under a One World Order of course.
Like any other "Non-Profit" organization, all the surplus revenues (profits) are skimmed off as salaries and bonuses to line the pockets of of the top dogs so the books reflect no profits. Teams of magicians (lawyers) are paid to make these "books" (their financial shell game) so complex and complicated that nobody but the top insiders can follow (interpret) the "slight of hand bookkeeping" (money laundering, company name shifting, and other deceptive tactics) their accounting illusionists use to distract their gullible audience, us. It is all just one big "game show" production.
The Big Question is: After all the "Expendables" or "Deplorables" have been "Expended", just who the Hell will end up being the "Game Host of the World?"
Morgan wrote:
b Investigation: Patients' Drug Options Under Med... (show quote)
Jul 23, 2018 13:04:49 #
Bad Bob wrote:
Why your problem with only taking big pharma $$$$?
Oh sorry, I forget you socialist Democrats like to extort everyone!
There, fcking better now!
Jul 23, 2018 13:32:45 #
Bad Bob
Loc: Virginia
vettelover wrote:
Oh sorry, I forget you socialist Democrats like to extort everyone!
There, fcking better now!
There, fcking better now!
Silly boy, I'm not even a Crat. Closer to what you Reflubs call a RINO.
Jul 23, 2018 13:35:58 #
Bad Bob wrote:
Silly boy, I'm not even a Crat. Closer to what you Reflubs call a RINO.
Ok, whatever the fck you are
Jul 23, 2018 13:41:11 #
Super Dave wrote:
Don't forget Big Lawyer.
We can never forget the dirty lawyers. Then they become dirty politicians! See how it works Dave?
The beauty of them becoming politicians is so they get to write their own laws and when they get caught in scandals and corruption, the lawyers get to investigate themselves and their propaganda machines like CNN and MSNBC cover it all up and shifts any and all blame to their political enemies. They have it made and all paid for nice and neat by you and me. They are dumb!
The only other group that is lower than a worm than the lawyers are the bloodsucking bankers! Those are the criminals who are really on top of the food chain. Those who control the supply of money, controls it all!
Jul 23, 2018 15:17:24 #
Bad Bob
Loc: Virginia
vettelover wrote:
We can never forget the dirty lawyers. Then they ... (show quote)
Just who voted them into office??? The same low information people that voted for the lying POS we have now.
Jul 23, 2018 16:03:08 #
RINO? Oh, yeah, one of those Obstructionist Progressive Democrats that have infiltrated the Republicans by flying false colors, lying about their affiliations, spying, and leaking false distraction stories, with the goal of stirring up hate and discontent about President Trump and spreading Socialist agitprop! With those credentials you could probably run for Congress, and win! Me, I'm just a run-of-the-mill Independent Conservative who roots for the USA to be great once again!
Bad Bob wrote:
Silly boy, I'm not even a Crat. Closer to what you Reflubs call a RINO.
Jul 23, 2018 16:17:43 #
Bad Bob
Loc: Virginia
Abel wrote:
RINO? Oh, yeah, one of those Obstructionist Progressive Democrats that have infiltrated the Republicans by flying false colors, lying about their affiliations, spying, and leaking false distraction stories, with the goal of stirring up hate and discontent about President Trump and spreading Socialist agitprop! With those credentials you could probably run for Congress, and win! Me, I'm just a run-of-the-mill Independent Conservative who roots for the USA to be great once again!
"be great once again!"
What would that be??? Jim Crow, coat hanger abortions, prohibition, rotary phones, buggy whips?
Jul 23, 2018 17:22:07 #
vettelover wrote:
Yeah..We can never forget the dirty lawyers. Then they become dirty politicians! See how it works Dave?.....
Doesn't take a genius to follow that line.
Jul 23, 2018 17:37:09 #
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.