bigbusa Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Maybe I'm crazy.. maybe I'm not. But I tend to follow some of the alarmist news regarding the world. I do know that after sandy-hook there was a fear of a gun grab and folks started buying up firearms in record numbers.. During this time there was also a drought on powder (smokeless powder = cordite , used in ammunition and for artillery ).. When people stopped buying arms, this powder drought still carried on. I had friends who would buy guns from people selling off their excess firearms buys that was brought on by the fear of gun grabs . .. Yet powder was impossible to find. During this time,.. I was wondering if smokeless powder vendors were perhaps under some sort of nondisclosure agreement by the government as perhaps part of a massive purchase contract. And today, we see epipen prices sore 500% to 600$+. Epinephrine is used to counter nerve agents. Can this be a secret government buy going on ? We have china building islands in the Asian sea, the militarization of the US. Global Banks still on the verge of collapse, Russia building underground bunkers. The US moving the missile defense shield to Romania, which apparently also has the capability of an offensive strike if armed with offensive missiles. Am I just being paranoid , looking at a benign issue's through the eyes of paranoia .. Or maybe epipens were under priced until now, and the new pricing reflects inflation. And maybe the Chinese need all that corn because they just love their taco's . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosencrantz Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Or maybe epipens were under priced until now, and the new pricing reflects inflation. No. The government ruled out other forms of delivering epinephrine and granted a monopoly to the manufacturer. Naturally, they take advantage of that and increase the prizes because there is no competition left and epinephrine is essential. In countries with a socialized medicine, you get epi pens at a fraction of the cost (10€) https://www.docmorris.de/jext-300-mikrogramm-injlsgin-einem-fe/06896664 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveR Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Its an interesting thought. I do recall with one of the flu or ebola scares over the last few years one us politician or donor was found to have bought up a mass of some drug companies stock just before the US govt bought a mass of its product as a precaution (that never got used - iirc it had a short shelf life. Countless millions of taxpayer dollars up in smoke) No. The government ruled out other forms of delivering epinephrine and granted a monopoly to the manufacturer. Naturally, they take advantage of that and increase the prizes because there is no competition left and epinephrine is essential. In countries with a socialized medicine, you get epi pens at a fraction of the cost (10€) https://www.docmorris.de/jext-300-mikrogramm-injlsgin-einem-fe/06896664 Was it granted a monopoly? I thought there was a competitor who just decided to get out of the market Socialized medicine IMO isnt the defining issue...if it was about the buying power of large, nationalized healthcare systems, that wouldnt be much of an issue given that the US healthcare market is dominated by a few large healthcare chains. Such chains likely have just as much buying power as a small european nation like Portugal or Belgium. Drugs are cheaper everywhere, regardless of level of socialization. The US patient in effect subsidizes 90% of the cost of developing drugs due to this. Good for those in developing countries, bad for americans. Drugs are expensive because the US has re-importation bans and anyone who refuses to buy off the cartels is criminalized. http://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pharma-wins-another-round-fight-against-dreaded-drug-reimportation Land of the free...when it comes to healthcare...not so much. I do find the epipen debacle quite darkly humourous though... http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/24/company-gouging-price-of-epipens-is-a-clinton-foundation-donor-and-partner/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbusa Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 Drugs are expensive because the US has re-importation bans and anyone who refuses to buy off the cartels is criminalized. http://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pharma-wins-another-round-fight-against-dreaded-drug-reimportation I was told for the most part customs will look the other way if you have a valid prescription Lats thing they want to do it have headlines taking away and criminalizing an elderly or sick person who cant afford the drugs, and had to go abroad to get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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