- cross-posted to:
- urbanism@slrpnk.net
- cross-posted to:
- urbanism@slrpnk.net
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/12369426
the purpose of a system is what it does
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/12369426
the purpose of a system is what it does
Why don’t Americans have healthcare? That would definitely be cheaper with that level of purchasing power.
What does purchasing power have to do with anything? Genuine question.
There are a third of a billion people in America. If the government bought the medication in bulk they should be able to get a really good deal on that quantity. That’s how it works in other countries. I was watching Bernie talk about it recently. I can try to find the interview if you want but if you just look up his recent interviews he’s probably mentioned it in them all.
I’m not sure that would actually help given the medication is produced in America, or by American companies at least.
From what I understand, almost all medication is produced in batches of a fixed quantity, and the tested and shipped out. Batches have fixed costs associated them, both by law and by business practices.
I know I’ve read articles describing how some drugs are being made through continuous manufacturing now and that it has lower costs associated with it, but it was like 2.
Basically, I’m not sure if buying the whole countries worth of a medication would help given the way the FDA has gone about certifying meds and the cost structures that has created. If you all of a sudden had to recertify most medications, many of them would stop being produced all together.
Another to consider is that under FAR, you must amortize the entire cost of an item, including testing and development, when selling to the federal government.
Wouldn’t those costs be absolutely insane? Wouldn’t that effectively turn big pharma into the new MIC?