Drug Costs Out of Control, COVID Lies in Court, & Abortion Lawsuit

A free public service for a better community

Feb 06, 2024

A Good Day To Advocate for Better Healthcare

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Drug Prices Unbounded

The opening graphic of today’s newsletter is from a RAND Corporation study that indicates how much higher drug prices are in the US compared to other countries. On average drug prices in the US are 256% of the average cost everywhere else. Remember that of all the drugs approved by the FDA from 2010 to 2020 all were developed with US taxpayer funding.

The US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) chair, Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) released a new report drilling into three drug companies’ business models, pricing, executive compensation and patent practices, accusing the industry of “ripping off the American people”. This according to the Washington Post.

The report takes aim at Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson and Merck two days before the companies’ CEO are slated to testify in front of the committee.

Among the conclusions:

The companies set high U.S. prices for new drugs that tend to rise over time, compared with prices abroad that often start at a lower level and fall over time.
The companies have hiked the starting price of their most innovative prescription drugs, the report found in a review of Food and Drug Administration approvals. The median launch price of those drugs was about $14,000 between 2004 and 2008; it was more than $238,000 between 2019 and 2023.
The companies’ revenues have soared. The global sales in 2022 for Merck’s cancer drug Keytruda alone were nearly $21 billion — on par with the annual revenue of hotel chain Marriott International and nearly matching the annual revenue of fast-food giant McDonald’s Corporation.

If we were allowed to negotiate a fair price, legally, then the price would be fair and not “All the traffic will bear”. Otherwise we are just held hostage.

Let’s ask those elected to represent us to do just that.

ACTION

Call or email your Member of Congress and Senators and ask them to pass legislation allowing the federal government to negotiate all drug prices. Their contact info is in the Resources section below.

Or use RESISTBOT by texting SIGN PITBRN to 50409 to send the message below.

“I am your constituent and we all deserve a healthcare system that works for all of us. A new Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions report, released this week, found that drug companies tend to set far higher prices in the US than in other countries and that drug prices here skyrocket over time and decline in those other countries. Moreover, The companies have hiked the starting price of their most innovative prescription drugs the report found in a review of Food and Drug Administration approvals. The median launch price of those drugs was about $14,000 between 2004 and 2008; it was more than $238,000 between 2019 and 2023.

Pretty soon drugs will just become unobtainable in the US. The answer is Universal Healthcare, like HR 3421, public insurance paying private providers for all of us. I want you to get that passed.

Until you do, I’d like you to write legislation that allows the US government to negotiate drug prices for all health insurance plans that are federally related, including Affordable Care Act plans, Medicaid, and Medicare. That covers about 108 million of us. Thank you.”

Help with Medicare Drug Costs

Here is some information on how to get help with high drug costs from the government.

The Extra Help program, also known as the Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), can help people with limited income and resources pay for Medicare Part D prescription drugs. Extra Help can help with deductibles, co-pays, and premiums. You can apply for Extra Help at any time before or after enrolling in Part D. Here is a US government link for more information. Here is an application.

And here is a US government link for Medicare savings plans.

From the COVID Disinformation File

You may recall that the Florida Surgeon General made claims that COVID-19 vaccines were modifying our DNA. Reuters has done a good job of fact checking and found that the answer is no (reference). The mRNA vaccines do not have the ability to modify our genetic makeup or destabilize our genome and pose a risk to our health.

In a video message, , vaccine scientist and infectious disease researcher Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said: “these DNA fragments would have to enter the cytoplasm, which is that part of the cell outside of the nucleus, and our cytoplasm hates foreign DNA. It has innate immune mechanisms as well as enzymes to destroy foreign DNA.”

Next, the fragments would need to penetrate the membrane protecting the cell nucleus, which requires a specific signal that the fragments don’t have, he added. “Even if they were able to get into our nucleus, which they can't, they would have to then integrate into our DNA with an enzyme called integrase, which then cuts our DNA, and it would allow these DNA fragments to insert themselves into our DNA.” But the fragments do not have that enzyme either, Offit said.

“So, it's impossible; it's virtually impossible for these DNA fragments to do any harm. They are clinically and utterly harmless,” Offit said.

Thus there is no evidence to suggest that residual DNA fragments in mRNA COVID-19 vaccines pose a health risk raised in statements by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. Where did he go to med school anyway?

COVID Disinformation in Court

Do you remember social media sites flooded with misleading posts about vaccine safety, mask effectiveness, COVID-19’s origins and federal shutdowns? I do. Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations was responsible for 400,000 unnecessary deaths in the US.

Now the Supreme Court could decide whether the government violated Americans’ First Amendment rights by alerting social media companies to the disinformation. Their ruling could dictate a new era for what role, if any, officials can play in combating misinformation on social media.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next month in a case that could have sweeping ramifications for federal health agencies’ communications in particular. Murthy v. Missouri alleges that federal officials coerced social media and search giants like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google to remove or downgrade posts that questioned vaccine safety, COVID’s origins, or shutdown measures. Government lawyers argue that officials made requests but never forced companies. Here is a link to a reference story on Stat.

The US government told no one to remove posts only pointing to violations of the social media company policies on what could and could not be posted.

I’m not sure the first amendment applies to commercial platforms. I am sure you can go to the park and lie out loud, though.

Anyway, lying about COVID resulted in the enormous tragedy of so many lives lost needlessly. I am hard pressed that anyone would want to take credit for that. If they could be made to be responsible for the outcome, I don’t think you’d sere such nonsense in court.

Reproductive Rights

About 21.5 million women of reproductive age — 15 to 49 — live in states that ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. That’s about 29% of U.S. women in this age group, according to Politifact.

Abortion Lawsuit in South Carolina

Reuters is reporting that a South Carolina woman, along with Planned Parenthood, on Monday filed a lawsuit asking a court to rule that state's abortion ban applies after about nine weeks of pregnancy, not six, saying that the law's language based on fetal "heartbeat" is ambiguous. Plaintiff Taylor Shelton in her lawsuit said the law's ban on abortion after "cardiac activity, or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart" is ambiguous because it could mean either the first detectable electrical activity, around six weeks, or the formation of the heart's chambers, after nine weeks.

Say it again, there is no heart in the fetus at 6 weeks. That is cellular electrical activity.

Extra Credit Action

Tell Representatives in Congress to pass the Women;s Health Protection ACT and the Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act. Their contact info is in the Resources section below or Use RESISTBOT on your cell phone by texting SIGN PIMBHV to 50409 to send this message.

“I am your constituent and I want you to know that 29% of the women in this country live where they cannot get an abortion. I want you to stand up and be vocal at every opportunity and fix this deplorable situation. A minority in the US is subjugating women and relegating them to 2nd class status without bodily autonomy.

I want you to work hard to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act. Lives are at stake. Act like it. Thank you.”

RESOURCES

Healthcare Advocacy (Us)

Website

Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare

Healthcare Advocacy Reading List

Find My Elected Officials

Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Contact State and Federal Representatives

Important Healthcare Resources

League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit

Organizations to Contact

National Nurses United Medicare4All

Physicians for a National Health Program

One Payer States

Healthcare Now

Reproductive Health

NARAL - Pro Choice America

Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion

Planned Parenthood

Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.

United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.

Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.

If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org