diseases . Its current cost is around $ 77,000 / year - 470 % higher than in 2003 , for the unchanged , identical drug .
Using AbbVie data , Rep . Porter showed us that nearly all of the profits were plowed into enriching the brass and the investors . From 2013-2018 , AbbVie spent less than $ 2.5 billion on R & D despite publicly defending its prices as due to the noble search for ever more beneficial compounds . It spent nearly double that on marketing , and a cool $ 50 billion on stock buybacks and dividends . Said Rep Porter , “ You lie to policymakers … the Big Pharma fairytale is one of groundbreaking R & D that justifies astronomical prices , but the pharma reality is that you spend most of your company ’ s money , making money - for yourself and your stockholders .”
Reducing the power of the health insurance behemoths by designing federally supported , comprehensive , but free or cheap health insurance would improve access to care in this country . When LBJ envisioned the Great Society , he meant to help the great mass of Americans who work for hourly wages , not the executives of Big Pharma . He meant to make it easier to raise a family and get a doctor ’ s appointment when you needed one . That ’ s still our goal in health care : what you need , when you need it , preventing illness and maintaining health from your conception onward .
DOCTORS ' LOUNGE
Changing the focus from profit , to promises kept , is a goal worthy of the Great Society . It starts with telling the truth . It may end on the floor of the Senate , where service to the nation falls victim to the calculating intransigence of greed . That ’ s been our reality for many years . Lying , back-stabbing and cutthroat deals have always been a part of governing . What ’ s different now is the simple acknowledgment of what actually happened in this country . The Congressional reality check matters to every American . Whether we matter to them is another question entirely .
Dr . Barry is an internist and Associate Professor of Medicine ( Gratis Faculty ) at the University of Louisville School of Medicine , currently enjoying a very long sabbatical until return to part-time work in the fall .
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