Is Big Pharma a Conspiracy or Not?

[godreaujea]

I believe there is some truth to Big Pharma being corrupt. You hear stories in the news about pharmaceutical companies charging $200 for life saving medicine that could could cost $10. I'm sure not every company is like this but I do believe that some are run by greed.

[rogerthat]

I believe the author. The big pharmacies are mostly profit driven organizations. So also, the government in some countries are corrupt. It is an unfortunate situation we are experiencing today. God help us.

[Mrudolph30]

It scares me how much power pharmaceutical companies have. They influence politics with their money and they influence our bodies with their drugs. For me it goes to the idea of whether healthcare should be considered a universal human right. If it is, I don't believe that a for-profit pharmaceutical system helps us achieve that end. As the book illustrates, the preference will always be for patentable, synthetic drugs over natural extracts.

[lotus784]

I think most companies are in it just for the money. I think a lot of unethical things happen for precisely that reason. I think a lot of times natural remedies are sufficient for a lot of things, however I still think for others it's worth the risk.

[kdstrack]

Big Pharma has a revolving door with Big Corporate. They are working to create a monopoly on health care. Our country and its citizens have access to the best medicines and the best medical practices available EVER in the history of mankind. There are many options available today. Big Pharma is only one option. Their money and size does not mean they get to control our life.

[Faithmwangi]

I am sorry about the side effects. How are you now though? I am also aware that most, if not all, of these doctors and companies have a greed and blame it on the cancer rather than on chemo. My grandmother, a surgical nurse, had cancer and she told my mom not to put her on chemo because itswno use and she wants to die peacefully. No use in extending her life anymore if it would be attached to drugs. But she's old, so i guess she felt it's time to go. I dont know how it would be to young people who still want to see what life is in store for them.

My diagnosis was 10 years ago. I wouldn't call them side effects. They are permanent, life-altering effects. Yes, it is a more complicated decision for a young person. I would not choose it at any age and am glad people are beginning to write about their experiences with these practices.

I am sorry that you have all had to go through this.

[Mariette15]

I mean, yeah, I do think the big pharma is out to get our money. There are ways in which we could solve some of the medical issues we have in a different, cheaper way, but companies will always suggest a medicine or the other, and to combat the medicine's side effects, they offer you another medicine, and so goes on the cycle.

[Gemma_15]

I think there is a good and bad side to all things in the modern world. This does include modern medicine and the financial aspect of it. I think it is messed up that companies get away with charging ridiculous amounts of money for drugs that will save a person's life, especially when it really doesn't cost nearly that much to make it. I've known people to give up fighting solely because the cost isn't worth it. I do think there are payoffs and bribes going on as well. It's the sad reality that we live in. And it isn't just in medicine, but I'm not a huge believer in mass conspiracies either. I just think there are too many greedy people involved where they shouldn't be.

[MichelleHite]

Big Pharma, has its place and in some ways should be respected, that said they have over stepped into areas of peoples lives they should have respect for after all it is those people supporting them. Money over welfare, some people are better off going natural in treatment, others need intervention with medical help. Keep in mind Medical is not always right for everyone. Natural treatment also deserves respect due to the countless people it has helped in the past and present.

[Calypso Terrier]

I think that Big Pharma seems pretty realistic, although there may still be a chance that it is a conspiracy.

[KateM234]

Having read this book, and also worked in state health insurance for many years, I am inclined to believe that there is definitely collusion between "Big Pharma", insurance companies, and the legislature. Health insurance is a commodity, and has to be paid for somehow. Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies have a main goal: profit. With that, they have power and these corporations and companies use that power to "sway" politics in the direction that best benefits their profit goals. Several posters mentioned corporate greed, and I think that is right on the mark. I feel like I have seen improvement over the last decade in terms of preventative medicine and the availability of more homeopathic treatments on *many not all* insurance plans, such as acupuncture and increased mental health visits, however much more growth needs to happen. "Big Pharma" isn't a conspiracy in my opinion, and I do think that everyone (myself included) should definitely strive to be more educated about just how all of these organizations are intertwined, and also understand that physicians and illegal drug use/addiction effect the problem as well.

[Randysgal]

My husband has multiple sclerosis and requires extremely expensive infusions to prevent the disease from flaring and increasing the damage to his brain. At one point he had changed insurance from Medicaid to a Medicare supplement insurance that told us they would cover his medications completely. Unfortunately, they only covered the first twenty thousand dollars, leaving us with five thousand, roughly, to pay out of our own pockets. This was something he had to receive on a monthly basis. The drug company ended up giving him a financial aid disbursement until we were able to get Medicaid back. This drug has been on the market for many years, yet no generics are available. Recently, he received a change of medication and had an infusion often used for leukemia patients. Again, the cost for one infusion was so expensive that if we did not have Medicaid our portion would have been nearly fifteen thousand dollars. The drug companies do not create generics for these types of disease-specific infusion medications. They can only be given in an infusion sweet by a licensed and trained nurse or physician. There is no real alternative to the treatments that are effective. What choices do these patients have but to accept the price or die?

Big Pharma exists! Insurances are not helping. The insurance companies require patients to go through procedures and take medications prior to the use of some of these medications, creating a larger customer base and repeat customers. Drug A works but the patient must first go through an MRI, X-rays, a CT Scan, blood work, and take drug B, C, D for the insurance company to pay for drug A. The insurance company does not benefit from the patient healing. If these diseases were cured who would buy the drugs and who would need insurance? Nobody would. Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies work together to keep the populace sick and needing their products and services. It's a big circle. They feed each other while people die.

[jhalwix]

I personally think that Big Pharma is not a conspiracy theory and they do have control over the costs of medical care. They have contributed to the costs of care being raised so much that regular people can barely afford it.

[Kristin Ransome]

I believe Big Pharma's intention is to make money, and only produce products that will keep people coming back. I also believe that this issue has been created by the shift from creating medicine to help people to creating medicine to make money. It would take a major societal shift to put pressure on Big Pharma to work on developing innovative drugs for acute illnesses and conditions, instead of solely focusing on drugs for chronic problems!

[jjmainor]

The PBS Newshour did a story a few months ago on Pharmacy Benefit Managers, the companies serving as the middlemen between the insurance companies and the pharmacies. Pharmacists they were talking to said the drugs often cost the customers less if they pay out-of-pocket instead of using their insurance because the PBMs dictate the outlandish prices. And the sad thing is, the pharmacies/pharmacists actually make less money on the drug as well if they accept the insurance, but they're stuck because that's the price of the business the insurance companies drive their way.

One scheme is called the clawback, where the PBM tells the pharmacist what to charge above the list price. Then they'll take a chunk of that increase, called the clawback, leaving the rest for the pharmacist.

Another complaint is that the drug companies themselves offer rebates to their customers to make the drugs affordable, but the PBMs intercept the rebates and keep them for themselves...the customer never sees the savings, and they usually don't even know the rebate was paid out by the drug manufacturer...