Hospital chains propose making their own generic drugs to compete with price gougers

[lpetrich]

Peeved by price gouging and shortages, hospitals will now make their own drugs | Ars Technica: “This is a shot across the bow of the bad guys.”

For four of the country’s largest hospital systems, enough is enough.

Sick of drug companies’ eye-popping price hikes and ridiculous shortages, the feisty hospital systems announced Wednesday that they’ve banded together and formed an unnamed non-profit to make their own steady supply of affordable generic medicines.

Noting
Leading US Health Systems Announce Plans to Develop a Not-for-profit Generic Drug Company | Intermountain Healthcare

The new company intends to be an FDA approved manufacturer and will either directly manufacture generic drugs or sub-contract manufacturing to reputable contract manufacturing organizations, providing patients an affordable alternative to products from generic drug companies whose capricious and unfair pricing practices are damaging the generic drug market and hurting consumers. The company will also seek to stabilize the supply of essential generic medications administered in hospitals, many of which have fallen into chronic shortage. The new initiative will result in lower costs and more predictable supplies of essential generic medicines, helping ensure that patients and their needs come first in the generic drug marketplace.

Back to the ArsTechnica article:

The group is not disclosing what specific medicines it will make out of fear that generic competitors could block them from the market by lowering prices temporarily. “We’re going to have to hold that very close to our vest,” Dr. Harrison told The Times.

I expect the capitalism apologists to jump from defending price gouging as essential for production to saying how great The Market is, even though the second position is contrary to the first one.

 

[RavenSky]

it will be interesting to see if savings are passed on to the patients.

 

[SimpleDon]

I am an apologist for capitalism, but health care isn't an area that lends itself to the profit motive.

Health care is the ultimate example of an endeavor that is best left to professionalism, not to profits. Professionalism is the idea that professionals have a duty beyond making money, in this case to the patient, but in a broader sense, to society as a whole.

The beauty of capitalism is that near idiots can be successful because the goal of capitalism is to make money. A simple goal that anyone can understand and try to achieve. This is important in our society because there are many more near idiots than there are brilliant, resourceful people.

We have at hand a prime example of a moderately successful near idiot capitalist who thought that making a lot of money qualified him to run the government, an endeavor best left to the professionals, at least in execution. Remaking government to run it like a business is doomed to failure. Government doesn't have the simple goal and measure of success that a business has, making money. It has many competing goals that have to be balanced and accommodated.

Professionalism requires years of training and further years of experience as well as continuing education to fully achieve. I don't want to go on with a point that I have tried to make many times, so I will just end by listing examples; doctors, nurses, lawyers, judges, teachers, engineers, pharmacists, policemen, firemen, pilots, the military, etc.

 

[Playball40]

I am an apologist for capitalism, but health care isn't an area that lends itself to the profit motive.

Health care is the ultimate example of an endeavor that is best left to professionalism, not to profits. Professionalism is the idea that professionals have a duty beyond making money, in this case to the patient, but in a broader sense, to society as a whole.

The beauty of capitalism is that near idiots can be successful because the goal of capitalism is to make money. A simple goal that anyone can understand and try to achieve. This is important in our society because there are many more near idiots than there are brilliant, resourceful people.

We have at hand a prime example of a moderately successful near idiot capitalist who thought that making a lot of money qualified him to run the government, an endeavor best left to the professionals, at least in execution. Remaking government to run it like a business is doomed to failure. Government doesn't have the simple goal and measure of success that a business has, making money. It has many competing goals that have to be balanced and accommodated.

Professionalism requires years of training and further years of experience as well as continuing education to fully achieve. I don't want to go on with a point that I have tried to make many times, so I will just end by listing examples; doctors, nurses, lawyers, judges, teachers, engineers, pharmacists, policemen, firemen, pilots, the military, etc.

Completely agree

 

[coloradoatheist]

Here is anticle discussing the sides and someone pro capitalism.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-01-19/why-hospitals-aren-t-in-the-drug-business


It may work or it may not work. We'll see. That's what the market is. Try and make better or fail trying.

For the government to run it. There is no incentive for the government to improve efficiency. If we are satisfied with the current the current state of advancement than turning it over to govt is okay.

 

[dismal]

I am an apologist for capitalism, but health care isn't an area that lends itself to the profit motive.

Why doesn't the manufacture of non-patented drugs lend itself to the profit motive?

Not clear.

 

[LordKiran]

There is no incentive for the government to improve efficiency.

Beyond pleasing the constituency?

Beyond reducing overall costs?

Beyond having the same drive to improve ourselves and see what wonders we can unlock through scientific advancement that we all have?

Wat???

 

[coloradoatheist]

There is no incentive for the government to improve efficiency.

Beyond pleasing the constituency?

Beyond reducing overall costs?

Beyond having the same drive to improve ourselves and see what wonders we can unlock through scientific advancement that we all have?

Wat???

You mean like the fight we see in the education field where there is no incentive to improve the quality of education and increase the efficiency for delivering that education. the government is horrible at that. Our military is bloated, useless and no has not gone down in cost though we could easily have a tenth of what we have now.

 

[Playball40]

it will be interesting to see if savings are passed on to the patients.

The entire HC industry is leaning towards a full consolidation. Look at the CVS and Aetna merger coming up. How long before you have to go to those stupid CVS kiosks and see a doctor online if you have Aetna? But you'll still be charged the same. And don't forget their CEO (who will now be on the board) believes in 'alternative medicine woo'.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

I expect the capitalism apologists to jump from defending price gouging as essential for production to saying how great The Market is, even though the second position is contrary to the first one.

This action by the hospitals is capitalism in action, showing that lower prices are the result of people being able to choose freely. As an advocate of capitalism I applaud this action.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

it will be interesting to see if savings are passed on to the patients.

Something to understand: In most cases the cost of the drugs are a small % of what the patient pays in the hospital. Most of the cost is delivering single-dose amounts to the patient, not the drug itself. It's economy of scale in reverse, coupled with the fact that you need to deliver each dose with skilled people, not minimum wage people.

 

[Bronzeage]

it will be interesting to see if savings are passed on to the patients.

There's no real incentive for them to do that, unless there is competitive pressure from other hospitals. It seems unlikely, but it's possible that a hospital could use the savings to discount a patient's deductible, and thus draw customers from other hospitals.

 

[Arctish]

nm

 

[LordKiran]

There is no incentive for the government to improve efficiency.

Beyond pleasing the constituency?

Beyond reducing overall costs?

Beyond having the same drive to improve ourselves and see what wonders we can unlock through scientific advancement that we all have?

Wat???

You mean like the fight we see in the education field where there is no incentive to improve the quality of education and increase the efficiency for delivering that education. the government is horrible at that. Our military is bloated, useless and no has not gone down in cost though we could easily have a tenth of what we have now.

The gov is only horrible at it because we put people in charge who insist it be horrible to give a competitive edge to private for-profit schools.

 

[untermensche]

The government is what we make of it. It is how we the people force it to behave.

Right now "We the People" have zero control over the government. It is controlled by competing super-rich factions and corporations.

To have a good government requires first having a functioning bottom up democracy and very strong controls over the influence of wealth on the government.

The government should look at all people equally and service the needs of all people to the greatest extent.

 

[coloradoatheist]

The government is what we make of it. It is how we the people force it to behave.

Right now "We the People" have zero control over the government. It is controlled by competing super-rich factions and corporations.

To have a good government requires first having a functioning bottom up democracy and very strong controls over the influence of wealth on the government.

The government should look at all people equally and service the needs of all people to the greatest extent.

Not to derail, those statements show you are not an anarchist, so drop that belief. You are a fascist.

 

[Toni]

There is no incentive for the government to improve efficiency.

Beyond pleasing the constituency?

Beyond reducing overall costs?

Beyond having the same drive to improve ourselves and see what wonders we can unlock through scientific advancement that we all have?

Wat???

You mean like the fight we see in the education field where there is no incentive to improve the quality of education and increase the efficiency for delivering that education. the government is horrible at that. Our military is bloated, useless and no has not gone down in cost though we could easily have a tenth of what we have now.

WHOA!

There is TREMENDOUS incentive to improve the quality of education. There is NOT tremendous agreement about what that means or how to measure it, much less to actually FUND it. There is not even agreement about whether teachers need to hold a license or certificate.

Yes, I am sure that your taxes are going up every year to support schools where you live. Throwing money at schools is not a great way to improve them. Actually structuring schools so that they can effectively teach all students and prepare them for their lives is quite a different thing.

 

[braces_for_impact]

Hospitals are already naming their own prices for all of their services, so I fail to see how this will help.

 

[Elixir]

Hospitals are already naming their own prices for all of their services, so I fail to see how this will help.

Agreed. What Bronzeage points out goes to that - $30 for a couple of Advil? No, that's $0.07 for the drug, and $29.93 for having a highly trained professional hand it to you.

 

[untermensche]

The government is what we make of it. It is how we the people force it to behave.

Right now "We the People" have zero control over the government. It is controlled by competing super-rich factions and corporations.

To have a good government requires first having a functioning bottom up democracy and very strong controls over the influence of wealth on the government.

The government should look at all people equally and service the needs of all people to the greatest extent.

Not to derail, those statements show you are not an anarchist, so drop that belief. You are a fascist.

Fascists do not promote bottom up democracy.

They do not promote bottom up anything.

Fascism is a top down system.

Something it seems you like.