[PLUG-TALK] Re: [PLUG] Streaming Video on Linux

Michael Robinson robinsom at robinson-west.com
Sun Sep 5 02:23:47 UTC 2004


> >> Look at Canada.  The UN lists Canada as the country with the highest
> >> standard of living in the world, best in technology and best in health
> >> care.  It's fairly socialist.  Socialism does work, totalitarianism
> >> does not.
> >
> > Canada, country that underpays our drug companies for drugs driving
> > up our health care costs.
> 
> Canada (and the rest of the first-world) don't underpay.  Americans
> are just fleeced.  There's a difference.
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----

Interesting theory, but how do you know that unless you're in drug
research?  One cost limiting effort that could be legislated would
be a limit on the percentage of drug costs that go towards 
advertising.  We get far more advertising of drugs than we will
ever need, and we pay for that in the form of higher prescription
costs at the pharmacy.  Advertising could be limited to 22% of
the total cost of developing and marketing a drug.

We are spending a lot of energy it seems on high cost drugs, there
appears to be room for debate on whether or not low tech offers as 
much promise and if we're developing for the right diseases.  How 
hard are we working on heart disease compared to, Alzheimers?  The 
former is far more likely to affect a person than the latter.  The
more pressing question is if we are prepared for the needs of
an aging population.

One of the advantages of getting high prices for drugs is being able
to do expensive research.  Is the research expensive?  Yes.  Are we
paying more for it than the drug companies need to cover their costs?
Dunno.  Drug cost is only one part of the problem, malpractice is 
driving costs up too.  Bush says he wants to cap malpractice.

     --  Michael Robinson





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