I've long wondered why the feminist catchphrases that they use for abortion advocacy are not as well or better employed on other medical issues. "My body my choice" "Between me and my doctor" etc. When there's a single body -- mine -- in question, these seem unequivocally relevant and apt. I own my own body. And having visited the FDA a few times for various hearings, I wouldn't trade it for those of a lot of the regulatory nags that would like to dictate their views on others.
I suspect that if you follow the money, you'd see that most or all of these unavailable drugs would mean cheaper competition for Pfizer and Moderna. Until we ban Pharma hiring of retired and ex-FDA officials, we can expect more of this. We can also expect another round of banning effective treatments for a new virus so that Big Pharma can capitalize on their monopoly in the next viral panic. ANNNND, until we ban Pharma advertising directly to the public, we can be assured major news networks will remain firmly in control of whatever message Pharma wants to send to America.
Yes. Infuriating. When I lived in London in 1993, I had easy access to an OTC treatment for IBS that worked within hours. Also less than $10 for about 32 tablets. No side effects. Also available in the other European countries and Canada. Not USA. As far as I know, still not available. Buscopan (hyoscine butylbromide)
All these "other" countries also have national healthcare systems. We seem to have the worst of both worlds --a profit oriented healthcare system (of which we are paying an even higher premium for endless advertising) in an industry that doesn't fit well for our citizenry into free markets, and a laggard FDA.
Don't knock the profit motive. It's why we have better cars, communication, housing, etc.
We need government regulation to some degree, but the heavy hand of bureaucratic regulation shanghaied by the healthcare industry has made a mess of things.
I'm old enough to remember when there was far less government involvement in healthcare. I'd have to say the system was much better and more responsive. But there was also much less healthcare; no MRIs, artificial joints, organ transplants, laparoscopic surgery, etc. These things are quite expensive, so healthcare costs must go up. But I suspect the open market could give us both advanced healthcare and affordable prices.
It's a complicated topic, one we could have several Substacks on but I am old enough to be vaguely aware that Medicare was enacted for senior citizens because health insurance companies would drop their coverage around 60 or so, just when people started really needing it. One aspect I like about Medicare is it still leaves doctors and such in a free market situation (unlike England's system or the VA where the government is the employer).
But Medicare is not cheap. And it sure as hell ain't free. You pay in for your entire adult life, and get nothing ibn return. The you turn 65 and you get benefits. You also get to keep on paying until you die. For most, it's about $175/mo.
I'm 78 now, been on Medicare for 13 years. I haven't done the math, but I doubt that my healthcare costs have used up the money that I've paid since I turned 65, not to mention all the money I paid in my whole adult life.
My attitude has always been I was happy to pay into private insurance or Medicare and never have to use the money. Good health is such a luxury! And I don't mind the money going to help others with more acute problems. That's why I think healthcare doesn't fit well into Libertarian thinking--better to pool the money: we don't get to choose our health outcomes in large part as much as our genetics do (granted, smoking, obesity, etc. DO have choice involved). Soapbox: Where I do think Libertarianism has a toehold in a Medicare for All scenario is that a national system could vastly simplify healthcare and end up with less complicated and smaller government. We could be relieved of Medicaid, Obamacare, Workman's Comp and auto insurance medical, plus literally thousands of other federal, state, and county subsidy programs...not to mention relieving businesses of HR/medical benefits and the inefficiency of a boatload of of private insurer paper pushers. Plus volume pricing. The private sector stays in place, doctors still compete, Medicare just sets prices and pays the bills.
It's been tried. What really counts is the quality and honesty of the administrators.
We have universal schools, and they are going downhill fast.
We have universal retirement (social security), and it's a mess.
How things work in theory and how they work in real life are two very different things. We wee told that Obama care would fix some of this. It only made things worse and more expensive. And that's NORMAL, when governments take charge.
There is no reason for the federal government to be in the middle of any of this. The individual states are just as able, and we have more control over state governments than the federal government. Remember, Europe does NOT have universal healthcare, some of the individual countries do. Our states are the equivalent of those countries.
Ah Raven...you may have opened the proverbial can of worms of the American Healthcare System...Big Pharma owns it and there is little that can be done about a quagmire of greed that "hath no mercy"...It is so interesting to read the political pundits in the anti Trump camp already lining up their plans of attack for the midterms...high prices for groceries already taking the forefront of the Democratic War machine...Yet, for some unknown reason (follow the money Cory Booker) not one member of Congress is squawking about the insidious increase in Healthcare Premiums over the past 20 years...
Expected Health Insurance Premium Increases in 2025
General Trends: Health insurance premiums are projected to rise significantly in 2025. This increase is attributed to several factors, including rising healthcare costs and market concentration among insurance providers.
Key Factors Driving Increases:
FACTOR DESCRIPTION
Market Concentration Fewer insurance companies dominate the market, leading to less competition and higher prices.
Healthcare Costs The overall cost of medical care, including hospitalizations and physician services, continues to rise.
Policy Changes: The expiration of enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025 is expected to increase out-of-pocket costs for many enrollees.
Risk Pool Changes: As healthier individuals may drop coverage due to higher costs, the risk pool could become sicker, further driving up premiums.
Specific Premium Changes
Individual Market: Insurers are requesting the largest premium increases in over five years, with a median increase of 15% expected for 2026.
Employer-Sponsored Plans: Premiums for employer-sponsored health plans are also anticipated to rise, reflecting similar trends in the individual market.
These factors combined suggest that consumers should prepare for higher health insurance costs in 2025, impacting both individual and employer-sponsored plans.
The cost for medications and the preventative monopolistic roadblocks from the FDA is absurd and criminal...Health Insurance now represents approximately 20-25% of the average Americans income...Insane, huh? And then add in the inability to obtain the medications listed in the Cato report and you see a form of Usury that is normally present in 3rd world countries or mafioso type care...The average American is fucked when it comes to Healthcare and Health insurance and Big Pharma, in cahoots with Big insurance are responsible...Yet you choose to talk about Warren Buffet buying United Healthcare...as an investment? UH is the biggest criminal entity in the Healthcare marketplace and our Govt. continues to allow the consolidation of Insurers while at the same time allowing Private Equity to buy up Physician practices...While many believe the USA Healthcare is the best in the world there are too many examples of the egregious treatment of the very people who are supposed to benefit from it...We hear too many examples of one offs, people who's life was saved due to a certain procedure or physician...But I am willing to wager Warren Buffet's investment in United Healthcare that the number of people who have died related to their inability to afford coverage or treatment is far greater...
It seems that the FDA needs revision of its rules and procedures on BOTH ends of the approval process. The first and most recently publicized problems being with the money driven approval of ineffective and/or poorly researched drug approvals. The second which has received less recent attention is as set forth in your article, drugs available and apparently effective in Europe and Canada that lack FDA approval in the US. I would suggest to RFK jr that the FDA take a hard look at the approval processes in Europe and Canada to see what might be incorporated or changed in the FDA process, or even accepting their drug approvals if their studies meet scientific standards, and especially with drugs that have been shown as safe and effective over decades of use. My unfortunate suspicion is that there are monetary reasons for the problems on both ends of this spectrum. Let’s figure this out and eliminate them for the health of our nation. How bout it Bobby?
The Nanny State at its finest. One hundred years on the "Progressives" and their multitude of alphabet soup agencies are revealed as the failures Austrian economic theory predicted from the very beginning. The Deep State has to be dismantled or we are facing the "Long Night".
My wife and daughters used to take Ponstan Forte for years when we were in the Middle East. You could get it over the counter (same in Europe). Worked better than anything else for menstrual cramps. When we came back to the U.S. in 2015 imagine our surprise to find it banned... Now I have to make a drug run every time I make a trip to Europe and the Mid-east, so my girls get some relief!!
The answer to your question might be explained by the fact that altogether, Big Pharma has around 1800 registered lobbyists working in Washington, DC. They all work to protect the interests of big pharma, not the people in America.
I've long wondered why the feminist catchphrases that they use for abortion advocacy are not as well or better employed on other medical issues. "My body my choice" "Between me and my doctor" etc. When there's a single body -- mine -- in question, these seem unequivocally relevant and apt. I own my own body. And having visited the FDA a few times for various hearings, I wouldn't trade it for those of a lot of the regulatory nags that would like to dictate their views on others.
Thought this a lot during Covid and the vaccination push...
The authors left out motive.
I suspect that if you follow the money, you'd see that most or all of these unavailable drugs would mean cheaper competition for Pfizer and Moderna. Until we ban Pharma hiring of retired and ex-FDA officials, we can expect more of this. We can also expect another round of banning effective treatments for a new virus so that Big Pharma can capitalize on their monopoly in the next viral panic. ANNNND, until we ban Pharma advertising directly to the public, we can be assured major news networks will remain firmly in control of whatever message Pharma wants to send to America.
"Horse De-Wormer" was a wake-up call for me.
I am with you on this. Wrote about it here, it was sickening: https://quoththeraven.substack.com/p/the-unforgivable-ivermectin-swindle
DANG! I no sooner hit "reply" on the previous comment, than I saw this in my inbox:
https://open.substack.com/pub/disinformationchronicle/p/pfizer-board-member-james-jim-smith?r=os3vr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Thank you, Raven!
Yes. Infuriating. When I lived in London in 1993, I had easy access to an OTC treatment for IBS that worked within hours. Also less than $10 for about 32 tablets. No side effects. Also available in the other European countries and Canada. Not USA. As far as I know, still not available. Buscopan (hyoscine butylbromide)
All these "other" countries also have national healthcare systems. We seem to have the worst of both worlds --a profit oriented healthcare system (of which we are paying an even higher premium for endless advertising) in an industry that doesn't fit well for our citizenry into free markets, and a laggard FDA.
Don't knock the profit motive. It's why we have better cars, communication, housing, etc.
We need government regulation to some degree, but the heavy hand of bureaucratic regulation shanghaied by the healthcare industry has made a mess of things.
I'm old enough to remember when there was far less government involvement in healthcare. I'd have to say the system was much better and more responsive. But there was also much less healthcare; no MRIs, artificial joints, organ transplants, laparoscopic surgery, etc. These things are quite expensive, so healthcare costs must go up. But I suspect the open market could give us both advanced healthcare and affordable prices.
It's a complicated topic, one we could have several Substacks on but I am old enough to be vaguely aware that Medicare was enacted for senior citizens because health insurance companies would drop their coverage around 60 or so, just when people started really needing it. One aspect I like about Medicare is it still leaves doctors and such in a free market situation (unlike England's system or the VA where the government is the employer).
But Medicare is not cheap. And it sure as hell ain't free. You pay in for your entire adult life, and get nothing ibn return. The you turn 65 and you get benefits. You also get to keep on paying until you die. For most, it's about $175/mo.
I'm 78 now, been on Medicare for 13 years. I haven't done the math, but I doubt that my healthcare costs have used up the money that I've paid since I turned 65, not to mention all the money I paid in my whole adult life.
My attitude has always been I was happy to pay into private insurance or Medicare and never have to use the money. Good health is such a luxury! And I don't mind the money going to help others with more acute problems. That's why I think healthcare doesn't fit well into Libertarian thinking--better to pool the money: we don't get to choose our health outcomes in large part as much as our genetics do (granted, smoking, obesity, etc. DO have choice involved). Soapbox: Where I do think Libertarianism has a toehold in a Medicare for All scenario is that a national system could vastly simplify healthcare and end up with less complicated and smaller government. We could be relieved of Medicaid, Obamacare, Workman's Comp and auto insurance medical, plus literally thousands of other federal, state, and county subsidy programs...not to mention relieving businesses of HR/medical benefits and the inefficiency of a boatload of of private insurer paper pushers. Plus volume pricing. The private sector stays in place, doctors still compete, Medicare just sets prices and pays the bills.
It's been tried. What really counts is the quality and honesty of the administrators.
We have universal schools, and they are going downhill fast.
We have universal retirement (social security), and it's a mess.
How things work in theory and how they work in real life are two very different things. We wee told that Obama care would fix some of this. It only made things worse and more expensive. And that's NORMAL, when governments take charge.
There is no reason for the federal government to be in the middle of any of this. The individual states are just as able, and we have more control over state governments than the federal government. Remember, Europe does NOT have universal healthcare, some of the individual countries do. Our states are the equivalent of those countries.
It is somehow both bad capitalism and bad socialism.
Ah Raven...you may have opened the proverbial can of worms of the American Healthcare System...Big Pharma owns it and there is little that can be done about a quagmire of greed that "hath no mercy"...It is so interesting to read the political pundits in the anti Trump camp already lining up their plans of attack for the midterms...high prices for groceries already taking the forefront of the Democratic War machine...Yet, for some unknown reason (follow the money Cory Booker) not one member of Congress is squawking about the insidious increase in Healthcare Premiums over the past 20 years...
Expected Health Insurance Premium Increases in 2025
General Trends: Health insurance premiums are projected to rise significantly in 2025. This increase is attributed to several factors, including rising healthcare costs and market concentration among insurance providers.
Key Factors Driving Increases:
FACTOR DESCRIPTION
Market Concentration Fewer insurance companies dominate the market, leading to less competition and higher prices.
Healthcare Costs The overall cost of medical care, including hospitalizations and physician services, continues to rise.
Policy Changes: The expiration of enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025 is expected to increase out-of-pocket costs for many enrollees.
Risk Pool Changes: As healthier individuals may drop coverage due to higher costs, the risk pool could become sicker, further driving up premiums.
Specific Premium Changes
Individual Market: Insurers are requesting the largest premium increases in over five years, with a median increase of 15% expected for 2026.
Employer-Sponsored Plans: Premiums for employer-sponsored health plans are also anticipated to rise, reflecting similar trends in the individual market.
These factors combined suggest that consumers should prepare for higher health insurance costs in 2025, impacting both individual and employer-sponsored plans.
The cost for medications and the preventative monopolistic roadblocks from the FDA is absurd and criminal...Health Insurance now represents approximately 20-25% of the average Americans income...Insane, huh? And then add in the inability to obtain the medications listed in the Cato report and you see a form of Usury that is normally present in 3rd world countries or mafioso type care...The average American is fucked when it comes to Healthcare and Health insurance and Big Pharma, in cahoots with Big insurance are responsible...Yet you choose to talk about Warren Buffet buying United Healthcare...as an investment? UH is the biggest criminal entity in the Healthcare marketplace and our Govt. continues to allow the consolidation of Insurers while at the same time allowing Private Equity to buy up Physician practices...While many believe the USA Healthcare is the best in the world there are too many examples of the egregious treatment of the very people who are supposed to benefit from it...We hear too many examples of one offs, people who's life was saved due to a certain procedure or physician...But I am willing to wager Warren Buffet's investment in United Healthcare that the number of people who have died related to their inability to afford coverage or treatment is far greater...
It seems that the FDA needs revision of its rules and procedures on BOTH ends of the approval process. The first and most recently publicized problems being with the money driven approval of ineffective and/or poorly researched drug approvals. The second which has received less recent attention is as set forth in your article, drugs available and apparently effective in Europe and Canada that lack FDA approval in the US. I would suggest to RFK jr that the FDA take a hard look at the approval processes in Europe and Canada to see what might be incorporated or changed in the FDA process, or even accepting their drug approvals if their studies meet scientific standards, and especially with drugs that have been shown as safe and effective over decades of use. My unfortunate suspicion is that there are monetary reasons for the problems on both ends of this spectrum. Let’s figure this out and eliminate them for the health of our nation. How bout it Bobby?
The Nanny State at its finest. One hundred years on the "Progressives" and their multitude of alphabet soup agencies are revealed as the failures Austrian economic theory predicted from the very beginning. The Deep State has to be dismantled or we are facing the "Long Night".
My wife and daughters used to take Ponstan Forte for years when we were in the Middle East. You could get it over the counter (same in Europe). Worked better than anything else for menstrual cramps. When we came back to the U.S. in 2015 imagine our surprise to find it banned... Now I have to make a drug run every time I make a trip to Europe and the Mid-east, so my girls get some relief!!
The answer to your question might be explained by the fact that altogether, Big Pharma has around 1800 registered lobbyists working in Washington, DC. They all work to protect the interests of big pharma, not the people in America.
Big Pharma. Norm MacDonald captures it best https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qvE5UMzm_Mk?feature=share