With Benefits Like These…

In the process of not getting prescription drugs to low-income seniors, the Medicare Drug Benefit helps quash programs that actually work:

Some U.S. drug makers are ending programs that provided free or discounted prescriptions to elderly Americans now that pharmaceutical benefits are widely available under the Medicare program - saying government rules are forcing them to back away.

Citing new federal anti-fraud memos advising drug makers to avoid providing inducements to patients to choose their drugs, companies say certain of their assistance programs could be interpreted as a kickback to win loyalty to their prescriptions.

Whole thing here.

Jacob Sullum looked at the benefit's impending fiscal impact here. I called the plan "generational warfare" here.

Comments

[Jennifer]

Back when I was in grad school and had no health insurance, I went to a doctor who, upon learning that I was a Starving Student, gave me enough free-sample drugs to cover the full course of treatment. I wonder if that, too, will be illegal now?

[Stephen Macklin]

None of that matters. Senior citizens are a large and quickly growing voting block. This is all about using tax dollars to buy votes.

[amazingdrx]

Yep free samples, the only good deal you can get.

But what a deal.. dangerous ineffective drugs rubber stamped by FDA korporate kriminals serving their time in government (a break from the drug company boardroom), all based on science for sale.

The so-called scientists testing drugs through supposedly blind research studies, just throw out any data that doesn't match the drug company's desired conslusion.

Any researchers that challenge the big pharma/ivy league drug research cabal are booted out of grad school.

That's good science, the best money can buy!

[amazingdrx]

"using tax dollars to buy votes."

It ain't gonna work, seniors hate the unintelligable drug plan. It's nothing but a tax dollar giveaway to big pharma, hospital corporations, and insurance companies.

[Ironchef]

Senior citizens can't read a fucking ballot either, amazingdrx.

[rdkraus]

I believe the key "senior" lobbying group, AARP, supported this legislation. Now they're actively promoting (I believe) "affiliated" plans, which they probably benefit from.

Hmmmmm.

Can't tell the good guys from the bad guys without a scorecard.

[amazingdrx]

Seniors are the only group that votes you fuckin' duuuhbya lovin' mow ron.

Bend over and pray towards crawford now.

link

[Rhywun]

Bend over and pray towards crawford now.

I'm afraid you're trolling in the wrong place if you think we're all fans of GWB.

[amazingdrx]

Uh yeah, ironchef sounds like a libertarian, hehehey.

Think much with that meat in your skull cavity or is it just to prevent a catastrophic collapse?

[thoreau]

Don't mess with the Iron Chef, Dr. X, no matter how amazing you might be.

Have you seen the meat cleavers those guys use? Better be polite to an Iron Chef!

[amazingdrx]

He oughta "cleave" himself from the party of 3 dollar gasoline thoreau. hehehey.

[R C Dean]

Can't tell the good guys from the bad guys without a scorecard.

What good guys?

dangerous ineffective drugs rubber stamped by FDA korporate kriminals

That's a new one - the FDA doesn't block or delay enough drugs.

[Jennifer]

Rumor has it that replacing the hard letter "c" with the letter "k" does not make kriticism any more konstruktive or kutting.

[amazingdrx]

i That's a new one...

Well thanks, I AM generally ahead of the curve.

[fyodor]

Jennifer,

What were you (and others) saying about libertarians being too snotty to woo anyone to our point of view? My point in that whole debate was that yes, it's helpful to respect people if one hopes to have any affect on changing their minds, but no, libertarians are not any worse than any other ideological/partisan group when it comes to not heeding that advice enough. Obviously the one case of this amazingdrx character is hardly proof positive that all liberals are like him (could a woman be such a snot?), but it at least clearly demonstrates that snottiness is hardly limited to libertarians.

[amazingdrx]

Yeah but it makes for fun illiteration!

Korporate, kriminal, konfederate,kristian, krusaders..it's in that vein.

[Jennifer]

Fyodor, this is true, but since Democrats and Republicans make the political majority in this country they can, unfortunately, afford to be snots about it. Libertarians can't.

[The Alsways Paranoid Dave W.]

Citing new federal anti-fraud memos advising drug makers to avoid providing inducements to patients to choose their drugs, companies say certain of their assistance programs could be interpreted as a kickback to win loyalty to their prescriptions.

This seems nice and pat. If they had only consulted the pharmaceutical companies before they did the new plan, then maybe they could have avoided this result that helps the pharmaceutical companies but hurts their customers. Unless . . .

[nmg]

But don't you libertarians understand? Competition only works in certain cases. Competition is clearly going to be a disaster if we allow it to flourish in areas like schooling of children or the market for medical drugs. Sheesh. Don't you know anything?

[fyodor]

Fyodor, this is true, but since Democrats and Republicans make the political majority in this country they can, unfortunately, afford to be snots about it. Libertarians can't.

I don't think that's what's being implied when someone says that it's our snotty attitude that keeps us a small minority, as was said repeatedly on that thread, but I'm all for taking the high road and advocating that approach to others -- well, at least whenever that little devil on my shoulder doesn't get the best of me!

[Jennifer]

I don't think that's what's being implied when someone says that it's our snotty attitude that keeps us a small minority, as was said repeatedly on that thread,

My main points on that thread were that libertarians don't know how to compromise, and make no attempt to connect with their audiences. Not quite the same thing as being a snot.

[fyodor]

Jennifer,

Well whatever. Do you really think those qualities are limited to libertarians? And do you think our new friend amazingdrx is making any attempt whatsoever to connect with his audience? Again, he hardly proves that libertarians are no worse than anyone else, but he's a damn good example of why I think that.

[Jennifer]

And do you think our new friend amazingdrx is making any attempt whatsoever to connect with his audience?

Politically, it doesn't matter--many politicians who agree with his stances have been elected, and many more will be in the near future. This is not true for libertarians.

When women were trying to get the right to vote, it was the women, not the men, who had to make an effort to appeal to the masses. When blacks were trying to get civil rights they, not the white people, had to try and make themselves appealing. And so forth.

Back to the original topic: that FDA surely does suck eggs, huh?

[nmg]

"When women were trying to get the right to vote, it was the women, not the men, who had to make an effort to appeal to the masses. When blacks were trying to get civil rights they, not the white people, had to try and make themselves appealing. And so forth."

This is the problem with Democracy in a nutshell. Your own personal rights and freedoms are wholly dependent on the goodwill of the masses.

Even today, in this country right now, we could end up with concentration camps if enough people think its a good idea.

nmg

[fyodor]

This is the problem with Democracy in a nutshell.

Of course, it's also the problem with any and every other form of government, except with Democracy there's at least the chance that the government's powers will be limited by the people's fear of what unlimited government can do. With an elite in charge only, one must trust one's liberty entirely to that elite's beneficence.

[Jennifer]

Nmg--

That's why we have a Constitution, to give minorities some protection from the will of the majority.

Is there any system wherein your rights and freedoms aren't to some extent dependent on the will of others?

[The Real Bill]

I don't buy the argument that the ideals of libertarianism are rejected by the majority because of the "snottiness" of the adherents to the philosophy. My take is that the vast majority of people are too stupid/evil/lazy. I think libertarianism has a (slim) chance after all of the Boomers and WWII folks are dead. Libertarianism won't come until far in the future. The human species doesn't yet deserve it. Just as we look at people from the past and think that they were primitive, people in the future will back at us and think the same. We are modern only from our current perspective. We are primitive and maybe even evil with respect to a future, more advance culture.

(Is anyone else tired of dystopian fantasies? Isn't there are decent chance that the future will be much better than today?)

[The Real Bill]

Please forgive my stupid/evil/lazy typos. I'm only a primitive being, after all.

[fyodor]

The Real Bill,

So...you're saying we are snotty, but we deserve to be and anyway that's not why we're unpopular?

[The Real Bill]

fyodor,

I don't think that we are any snottier than Dems, Reps, Greens, etc. Actually, I think that we are less so. At least we try to use reason and fact sometimes. What is more obnoxious than a social conservative or leftist appealing to emotion in a rude manner?

We are snotty, but it's our ideas, not our snottiness, that turns people off.

[Stevo Darkly]

Korporate, kriminal, konfederate,kristian, krusaders..it's in that vein.

Oh, and "Klintoon"! Don't forget "Klintoon"!

You almost make me miss my days of lurking at freerepulic.com and the kutting kriticisms of "DemoRATS."

(insert photo of Helen Thomas here)