how is Obama selling out to big drug companies going to cut costs?

It's not. My husband is in a management position for a pharmaceutical company. Granted, he is NOT in a CEO type position, but is a manager of clinical research and is in charge of clinical trials. The little known fact about the biotech/pharma and this plan is simply this: There is a little advertised agreement between pharma and the administration. The agreement is that pharma/biotech agree's to go along with the plan to overhaul. In return, after a set # of years, pharma can charge whatever they want to charge for prescription drugs. Obviously, they are betting that with the governement plan, many MILLIONS of people will be ON the government subsidized healthplan. After that happens, the pharma/biotech will be able to charge the government whatever they want for prescription drugs and devices. Please believe me when I say biotech/pharma is THRILLED with this. They realize how inept our government is at cutting costs, and they know this is a gold mine for them.

Add to the fact that they just won a big break in this deal....Obama administration wanted to cut the "patent" years on drugs down to 5 or 7...pharma wanted it at 12 years. The administration just agreed (last week I think, it was not advertised but you can search and find it), to let pharma have their way and have it at 12 years. This weeds out competition, no one can make the generic form of the drug for 12 years, and gives them a monopoly on certain medications...AND the ability to charge the "government insurance" exuberant amounts of money for these drugs.

It's a GREAT win for them!

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12971462?source=rss&...

This article talks about some of the patent protection, and some drugs will get an ADDITIONAL 12 year monopoly.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090722/19542356...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/business/22bioge...

It's brilliant really. Biotech gets government grants for trials and R&D for drugs. GRANTS! They get the drug approved by the FDA, put it on the market. Drug is protected for years, no generic forms, they can charge anything....for 12 years. So they get the money from government via grant, and now they will be able to CHARGE the government (via ppl on government insurance) whatever they want. It's a win, win for them! Be prepared to pay 200 a pill for Mr. Smith's viagra...or more, with taxpayer money.

The BEST thing they could do for the people is LOWER the patents on drugs, to make competition from generics and lower costs. They just did the exact OPPOSITE and RAISED limits. It makes nooooo sense.

Blaze027 - Is Right On!

Plus the fact that Obama & Rahm can extract HUGE Donations from the Drug Companies.

The Elitists think we are dummies to be exploited - now about 66% of our income.

We may never know how many Billions of Dollars are in political leaders accounts in Swiss Banks!?!?

Plus look what a joke they are when they say the public option will compete with private insurance companies. That's a joke.

Compete .... ya right..... when our government can give grants left and right to other companies and cozy up to them, but not private insurance companies.

They think we are really stupid