I have been doing a lot of thinking about how the republicans want to save money by cutting popular social programs and now the new/no so new tactic of cutting Medicare payments to doctors. First of all, the problem is not the programs themselves but the for profit attitude that is prevalent these days. Doctors should become doctors to help people, not to become millionaires.
If the federal government would refuse to be over charged for goods and services, there would be tremendous savings. For example: When I was a single, working mom, I got Section 8 housing. There is a big scam there. I paid $256 a month for a two bedroom apartment. The landlord was charging the government $750 on top of that. That means the landlord was making almost $1000 a month on renting that two bedroom apartment. That was in the early 90's. There is no reason why an apartment should cost that much to live in. The government is paying more than fair market value on everything. I should have been able to live there for free. (The duplex I moved to was bigger and cheaper than that little apartment.)
If the government were really concerned with cost savings, they would not allow drug companies to charge what they do, for their drugs. That alone would save the government a lot of money. For example: I have Multiple Sclerosis and the medication I take is $6,000 a month. Medicaid pays that. Now, if they put a mandatory cap on those prices, the way they control gasoline margins, they wouldn't have to spend that much on medications for claimants. The cost of private insurance would go down too because the insurance companies would no longer be on the hook for such expenses.
There is no conceivable reason that any medication should cost more than $200 a day. The government could pass legislation telling the drug companies that they can only make a certain percentage of profit on the drugs they make. They do it for gasoline.
Gasoline retailers are only allowed to make a 9% profit on their gas sales. That is why you will see a variety of gas prices in the same area. If you buy your gas at x price, you can only sell it for y price. You are not allowed to break even by selling it at cost. Therefore, if you pay a lot to your wholesaler, you have to keep your price higher than the guy who bought his at a lower price. The price you can sell for is determined by the price you originally paid for it.
Since the drug companies own most medical schools and they get government money for research, there is no justification for the prices we pay. We, the consumer, are paying for the drug companies to advertise, bribe the FDA and buy corporate jets. That is sickening and wasteful. That is how the government should be trying to save money, not by cutting services to those who need it.
I am passionate about this because without Medicaid I would not be able to take the medication I am required to take. The reason this simple solution has never been brought up is that Big Pharma pays a lot in campaign contributions, so politicians don't set any real rules for them to follow. Think about how many drugs were approved by the FDA that later spurred law suits to be advertised on television. We are paying for the bribery of the FDA. They charge what they do because no one has told them they can't. That must end.
Government contractors charge inflated prices for everything, and the people in charge of making payment never check into the charges. If you or I were to go to Home Depot and bought a toilet, we'd never pay $7000 for it, but if the government needs a toilet, they will pay that price for it without batting an eye. That must end. Our tax dollars are being wasted by the very people who claim that they must cut benefits. Deficit hawks should take a hard look at how the money is being spent.
Take my medication for example; if it only cost $1,000 a month, the government (Medicaid) would save $60,000 a year on it. I am just one person. If you multiplied that times the number of people taking this medication, that adds up to a lot of money. Why should any medication cost more than $72,000 a year? Especially one that does not cure.
Make no mistake, drug prices will only come down with federal intervention. There is no profit in cure, just the treatment of symptoms. Therefore, there is no incentive for drug companies to come up with cures for anything. The money is in life long buyers of drugs to treat. They charge what they do because they can. The government should manage their money better rather than telling us there is none. Why is there no money? Because the government doesn't question what it is being changed for; they just cut the check. Maybe we should put the IRS in charge of spending, not Congress. We all know that the IRS is good at collection and I bet they'd be better at denying ridiculous pricing too. Congress gets elected because of these companies that over charge them so they are not likely to reduce their income no matter how right that would be for the people. The issue should not be as to whether or not something is covered, the issue should be the charge of the service or supply.
Nothing health care related should be for profit. It should all be non-profit. Hospitals, doctors, medication, all of it should be price regulated. That is the only way that health care would ever be affordable for everyone. I wonder how many of these institutions are for profit in other countries? I imagine that the reason universal health care is successful abroad is because they don't pay what we pay for it. They most likely regulate the industry. We do not. The FDA is a joke. They have been bought and paid for at our expense.
If the government really wants to save money, like Congressional republicans claim, then they should start by going over their own books and refuse to pay the prices they are being charged for everything from aspirin to screws. Why is it that a month of Lipitor costs $237 but the generic is only $2, when they are the same thing? People aren't paying for the drug, they are paying for the name.
Not all medications have a generic equivalent. Mine doesn't. So, I can't save a dime going that route.
It just makes sense that if you want to save money, you need to control cost. It's like going to the grocery store with x amount of money. You buy the most for that money. People have x amount of dollars to spend on health care, so if the prices were controlled, people could get their money's worth. The government would get its money's worth and we wouldn't be called the most expensive health care in the world. We are not any healthier for the amount we spend. So, paying more isn't worth it, is it?
Personally, I m tired of the government not doing anything about this price gouging and then taking it out on people like me in the form of cuts.
If the government wants to save money they have to refuse to pay inflated prices for things. Let's face it the people who charge these prices do so because the government is seen as a cash cow for private contractors. Congress needs to cut these companies off. They could refuse to pay three times the cost for housing subsides, they could cap drug prices, they could do a lot, but corporate donors keep Congress in line. Congress kisses corporate ass. This must stop. The Supreme Court did the American people a disservice by allowing Citizen's United to be the rule of the day. We the people must object.
I say, fire everyone in Congress and start over. Congress has not been friendly to us, so why should we be friendly to them? They control the purse strings and they get paid for doing nothing. Fire 'em all. They don't know how to govern. They are locked into the interests that helped elect them, not the people they were hired to serve. They don't care about us, because we have no money to give them. That's why Democrats are scrambling for donations. The people have no money to send Dems, so they don't get elected. Republicans have all kinds of wealthy donors and they do get elected. Why? Because they are good liars. They have mastered the art of getting people to vote against their own best interest. When was the last time the republican party told the truth? I don't know.
Has it ever occurred to anyone that Congress does not do anything because they are not affected by anything they might do? They don't participate in Social Security, so there is no reason, in their minds, that it should exist. We the people pay for their health care, so the fact that we can't afford it for ourselves doesn't bother them. They have a pension so they have no need for Social Security to retire on. They have more millionaires in Congress than not. Because none of our issues directly affects them, they do nothing about it. I bet if one of them had to pay what I do for medication, they'd sing a different tune. Come on, Dick Cheney is only alive today because our tax dollars provided him with the best medical care available. Would the government do that for you or me? Not a chance.
The government is responsible for the waste, but ordinary people are supposed to pick up the slack. That is not fair. They should fix a broken system, not cut it to the point where regular people have to suffer the consequences. Is there a reason the Congress men make so much money? Why do they get a paycheck when they shut down the government. They are government employees after all. Their jobs should be on the line when Congress shuts down any part of the government. If you ask me, Congressional salaries are one of the biggest areas of waste. I wish I had a job that paid me to obstruct/do nothing. Hell, I wish I had any job.
I suffer from brain damage, but the government has denied me any help except for Medicaid, which I will probably lose once my son reaches the age of 18, later this year. I have been denied SSI, but I have a disease on their list of disabling diseases. I have suffered brain damage, but they tell me I am not disabled enough. I had to write a letter to the president just to be put on a waiting list for a hearing. Before I wrote to the president, the SSA lied and said I never filed an appeal. However, that was a lie I called them on. A week later, I went from never having filed an appeal to being on a waiting list. So, there you have it. The government lies to itself. I filed my appeal the day after I got my denial letter.
The government isn't broke it is dysfunctional. They need a new bookkeeper.
I would love to work, but I am not able to walk across a room without losing my balance. I fall down a lot. I even pass out randomly. I think the government wants me to get a job and pass out while working so it becomes a worker's comp thing.
Well, that's my story... I think that if these Congressional deficit hawks were to take a real look at the waste in government they would not be so quick to slash programs. They need to focus on the cost of goods and services. Why should the drug companies make all this money when the government subsidizes their research? They aren't charging what they do because they need an ROI. The research didn't cost them anything; they own the medical schools that do it. Plus the government gives them money. We are paying for the marketing of these drugs and the law suit settlements that arise from their use. Period.
Congress, do something meaningful for a change.