It's not only pharmaceuticals Fred, it's medical equipment also. Both groups continually complain about the cost of product development and the requirement to adhere to regulations as the reason behind excessive costs. Having done work for some medical device manufacturers, I can say this is a bunch of hooey. None of these manufacturers will open their books to scrutiny in an effort to prove that point. They are more concerned with turning out product that will be subject to a mass tort for not performing as advertised. If their product does have legal action taken against it, they hide behind the claim that they met all the regulatory standards set by those government regulations they find so bothersome. They also can't explain why they sell their product at a lower price overseas (usually due to the fact that many governments around the world do not allow price gouging on healthcare). Nor can they explain why products made in other countries that fully adhere to U.S. standards and regulations cost less than American made products. Large pieces of medical equipment, like MRI's, cost a lot of money and, in order to recoup costs, they are used a lot, sometimes not necessarily warranted, at a high cost per use to the patient. Patients had been duped by medical facility management that they need these devices for the benefit of the patient. In reality they advertise that they have this equipment to induce you to use their facilities because they are at the forefront of technology. All these are factors the make the cost of healthcare in the U.S. the highest in the world.

This article from U.S. News & World Report gives some valuable insight into the cost of medical devices and the price we pay for them.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-hospitals/articles/2009/07/10/cost-of-medicine-are-high-tech-medical-devices-and-treatments-always-worth-it

As noted many of these drugs outside of the US sell for just a fraction of what the companies are getting away with charging here. Really amazing chutzpah ! 

Goose wrote:

It's about more than demonizing the producers of biotech.
It's about Americans and their expectations.
From article:

"Americans adore technology. We love our iPods, our Kindles, our TiVos, our Xboxes, and our smartphones. So it's no surprise that our high-tech infatuation extends to our medical system, where we zap prostate cancer in multimillion-dollar proton-beam therapy centers, implant defibrillators in chests to shock hearts back to life, use robots to perform surgery, and take detailed pictures of every part of our bodies using constantly advancing imaging technology."

People want this technology, even when it isn't clear that it makes a significant change in outcomes.
And companies make money by giving people what they want.
Space age technology costs money.
No bucks, no Buck Rogers.

 
I would suggest that, although some Americans adore and are slaves to technology, when it comes to healthcare, there's a twist. That twist is that Americans are bombarded by advertising, doctor influence, and caring about healthy human life--especially that of family members. Big pharma, corporate healthcare facilities, and healthcare equipment manufacturers have done an excellent job of promoting, to their benefit not necessarily that of the patient, their products. Just tune into the evening news and count the number of advertisers that are pharmaceutical products. These ads urge prospective patients to visit their doctors and 'ask' about their product. The doctors are influenced when you come in for an office visit and say 'I'm interested in getting some Zaleftzecam for my skin rash'. The doctor gives you a sample from the pharma company and an Rx for when that runs out. One would think that the doctors that prescribe more of their drug than another would receive some benefit for promoting their product. The thing that I always find interesting about these tv ads for pharmaceuticals is that, due to an FDA mandate a couple of years ago, must inform the viewer about common side effects. When they get around to listing the common side effects (which could include death) the projected patient in the commercial begins wandering around the flower market, or strolling along Big Sur, or having a happy lunch with friends, all designed to distract you from these possible detriments to your health if you use this product. And they always end with a plea for you to ask your doctor about Zaleftzecam and if it's right for you.

What ever happened to going to your family doctor, having him examine you, the doctor giving you his prognosis of your condition and possibly prescribing a drug to help cure your ailment without the over-the-top intrusion of big pharma.

Consider this report from today about Price Gouging with Drugs. 

$1bn here we come.’ — Martin Shkreli told Turing board as Daraprim buy got closer

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/1bn-here-we-come-martin-shkreli-told-turing-board-as-daraprim-buy-got-closer-2016-02-03

Last edited by tennyson (2/03/2016 1:10 pm)

The guy is a sociopath.