The War on Pharmaceutical Companies
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In America, it has become a battle to earn a high paying job to cope with the expenses of a typical American. It has become even more of a battle for some people to afford medical prescriptions to keep healthy. Health becomes a crucial issue when discussed among people. No matter what, at one point or another, everyone is going to stand as a victim of the pharmaceutical industry. The bottom line is Americans are paying excessive amounts of money for medical prescriptions. Health-Care spending in the U.S. rose a stunning 9.3% in 2002, which is the greatest increase for the past eleven years. (Steele 46) Many pharmaceutical companies are robbing their clients by charging extreme rates for their products.
It is said that name-brand prescription drugs in Canada cost approximately 40% less than they do in America. But it is illegal for the transport of drugs from Canada to America. Why? It is because Pharmaceuticals are simply greedy and prey on victims that are in need of their products to survive. It makes it hard for large households on a budget to purchase drugs to keep healthy. The way pharmaceutical companies look at their clients is like this: It is a life or death situation for them so the customers have to buy it in order to survive. According to the annual Fortune 500 survey, the pharmaceutical industry, expectedly, made it at the top of the list of the most profitable. The top seven pharmaceutical companies took in more profit-money than the top seven media companies, the top seven airline companies, the top seven oil companies, and the top seven car manufacture companies. (Ðcost so much, CNN) The profits of pharmaceutical companies are outrageous and extreme. There are many reasons to why these companies are greedily taking advantage of customers. The number one reason is because people who are need of these prescriptions have no other choice but to purchase them.
Why does not America do something about these rip-off companies? In 2001 George Bush promised to lower the amount spent on prescriptions for the citizens, but in 2002, Americans spent $162.4 billion on prescribed drugs. (Steele 47) Drugs prices are not likely to fall back down to what they were years ago. They fall into the same category as fuel prices for automobiles; they always increase. There are more pharmaceutical companies present in the U.S. than any other country in the world. The reason is because other countries are not as financially inclined as the people in the U.S. are and also because the U.S. government has avoided to regulate lower prices. The American Government is also taking advantage of their citizens by supporting these companies. They supply them with their support because they make so much off taxes from the desperate people purchasing drugs. (Ðtoo much influence, web)
Since Canada is selling their medical prescriptions for a cost of approximately 40% less than the U.S., pharmaceutical companies are furious and enraged. Pfizer Inc., which stands as the worlds largest pharmaceutical company, is eager to terminate drugs being supplied from Canada in the U.S. Pfizer demanded that Canadian wholesale distributors present reports itemizing past and present sales of their products to drugstores. However, Pfizer is not the only corporation after Canadas dealing. So are companies such as AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly and Wyeth. These companies are unhappy because Americans have discovered they are able to save a lot of money by depending on Canadas wholesale distributors. (Ð….drug Pricing Reform) Not much of a surprise, the FDA is in full support with these avaricious pharmaceutical companies.
Prescription Drug Reimportation is a bill, not yet passed into a law. But if done so, it will have power to allow consumers to have availability to lower prices for prescription drugs that exist in other countries. This law will be favorable for Americans because it will enable them to save a ton of money on their prescriptions. But what kills the chances of this bill becoming a law is FDA Commissioners are tied to the Pharmaceutical Industry. Seven out of eleven FDA Commissioners claim Prescription Drug Reimportation is unsafe. (Ð…drug Pricing Reform)
The Pharmaceutical Industry receives tremendous tax breaks. Pfizer, in 2002, reported profits of $9.1 billion from a