In the article “To Cut Drug Prices, Academy of Sciences Tells the Government to Negotiate With Manufacturers” it talks of how the government should be responsible for regulating the prices and distribution of prescription drugs across the country. This is because of the continually emerging problem of individual citizens lacking access to prescription medications that they need due to high cost and limited support from insurance programs. While it is a noble case that they are making it is altogether unfeasible.
The analogy that comes to mind is if one were to make a case against McDonald’s for their poor food quality, or to Apple for employing cheap overseas labor. The Pharmaceutical Enterprise is too big and established for anyone to care about regulating it. The amount of of effort that would be required for limited government resources to be allotted to the heavy regulation of medications all over the country makes it an unattractive and unnecessary proposition to the powers at large. The government of the United States of America operates as a Republic, voting in representation at every level of legislation. In this framework it would be highly unrealistic to request that they heavily regulate an industry which seems to be running effectively to all standards of measurement that they care about. Can’t afford medications? Get better insurance. Can’t afford better insurance? Get a better job. The system works if the individual is worthy of accessing it.
Along with being a republic, America is also a capitalist country in which such propositions may be promptly confused with socialist measures. Now do I agree that something needs to be done in order to make medications more accessible to lower income citizens? Absolutely. But do I think that lobbying for the government to come in and regulate is the effective process to achieve the desired result? Absolutely not. The most that will happen from a proposal such as this is the insurance companies having to report more accurate data on their medication prices; not so different from McDonald's having to report how many calories are in a double cheeseburger. I believe the only way to make medications more accessible, the only way to get anything done for the benefit of the masses, is to develop a case that in some way makes the new system more profitable/attractive to the private powers; insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies etc. The U.S. government doesn’t have time for this.
Lauren wrote a post that was both informative and persuasive. She makes a strong, structured case for her perspective, describing why government control of the cost of medicated drugs "is altogether unfeasible." She cited the fact that the American "Pharmeceutical Enterprise" is far too large to monitor for a government that already has plenty to do to run this country effectively. Furthermore, she pointed out that the United States is a Republic, meaning that a lot of legislation from people at different levels of government would go into every little decision that would have to be made regarding this prescription medicine. She also brought up that the status quo is adequate if people requiring medication would truly seek it out for themselves. In addition to this, she brings up a very good point about how this hypothetical new government regulation would be perceived by a capitalistic country like the US. She closes with a very succinct and pointed statement: The US government simply doesn't have time for this. And because I am a Steadfast Conservative who believes in minimal government control over private companies, I agree with her standpoint on this issue.
Lauren wrote a post that was both informative and persuasive. She makes a strong, structured case for her perspective, describing why government control of the cost of medicated drugs "is altogether unfeasible." She cited the fact that the American "Pharmeceutical Enterprise" is far too large to monitor for a government that already has plenty to do to run this country effectively. Furthermore, she pointed out that the United States is a Republic, meaning that a lot of legislation from people at different levels of government would go into every little decision that would have to be made regarding this prescription medicine. She also brought up that the status quo is adequate if people requiring medication would truly seek it out for themselves. In addition to this, she brings up a very good point about how this hypothetical new government regulation would be perceived by a capitalistic country like the US. She closes with a very succinct and pointed statement: The US government simply doesn't have time for this.
ReplyDeleteAnd because I am a Steadfast Conservative who believes in minimal government control over private companies, I agree with her standpoint on this issue.