NPR did this piece a few days ago. They described a number of complex deals that might or might not work. They totally failed to talk about one simple act that would lower US drug prices a lot, right now, and it is 100% legal.
All we have to do is allow duty free import of drugs from any reasonable first world country, Canada, Britain, the EU, Japan, probably some others. Drugs are cheaper overseas because the national health authorities are permitted to bargain over price. The US medicare and medicaid are not allowed to bargain, by law they have to accept whatever price big pharma asks. Result, a lot of drugs, many of them manufactured in the US, are a lot cheaper overseas, like half the US prices. If we allowed import, we could take advantage of those lower prices here at home.
FDA will cry and scream, but they don't get to vote. They will claim that foreign drugs haven't been inspected, and their makers haven't been harrassed by FDA. Far as I am concerned, if the authorities in any reasonable first world country think the drugs are good enough for their own citizens, I think they are OK for US citizens as well.
Big pharma would go into orbit. but they don't get to vote. They do spread a lot of money around in DC, and they would threaten the pols with a cutoff of "campaign contributions/bribes". The intelligent pol would vote his district, and with some support from the MSM, the districts would be in favor.
That NPR totally ignored this issue is a measure of either their ignorance, or big pharma has got to them.
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