The Face of Our Benevolent FDA

The brilliant minds in the FDA have decided to grant a monopoly to Ther-Rx on the production of Makena, a drug to prevent premature births, that was previously produced by non-FDA-approved compounding facilities for about $10 an injection. The new, FDA-approved, "under monopoly" price?

$1,500 per injection.

Did I mention that an at-risk mother may need up to 20 injections throughout her pregnancy? Must be part of the government's push to "lower health care costs" by cutting out that greedy "free market".

I think this sentence says it all:

"The cost is justified to avoid the mental and physical disabilities that can come with very premature births, said KV Pharmaceutical chief executive Gregory J. Divis Jr."

For anyone who needs it, the translation to that sentence is: "We know parents will pay anything to save their child, and now that we have government guns backing up our cease-and-desist letters to the cheap producers, we'll get a chance to see just exactly how much that is."

Wisconsin: Just Like Nazi Germany

You couldn't make this stuff up, folks:



Apparently, the logical process goes something like this:

1. Ask you to contribute a small percentage to your own retirement and healthcare instead of dumping it all on the taxpayers.
2. ???
3. Round up all the Jews!

Administration Threatens Insurers Whose Costs Contradict Administration Theory

Health and Human Services has issued a letter to the insurance industry, promising "zero tolerance" for any insurer who dares to blame the administration for rising health insurance costs. You see, the white house has models to predict what should happen, and if it doesn't turn out that way in reality, then reality is the one in the wrong:

(Courtesy of The Volokh Conspiracy)

It has come to my attention that several health insurer carriers are sending letters to their enrollees falsely blaming premium increases for 2011 on the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act. I urge you to inform your members that there will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases....

According to our analysis and those of some industry and academic experts, any potential premium impact from the new consumer protections and increased quality provisions under the Affordable Care Act will be minimal.... Any premium increases will be moderated by out-of-pocket savings resulting from the law....

Given the importance of the new protections and the facts about their impact on costs, I ask for your help in stopping misinformation and scare tactics about the Affordable Care Act. Moreover, I want AHIP’s members to be put on notice: the Administration, in partnership with states, will not tolerate unjustified rate hikes in the name of consumer protections....

Already, my Department has provided 46 states with resources to strengthen the review and transparency of proposed premiums. Later this fall, we will issue a regulation that will require state or federal review of all potentially unreasonable rate increases filed by health insurers, with the justification for increases posted publicly for consumers and employers. We will also keep track of insurers with a record of unjustified rate increases: those plans may be excluded from health insurance Exchanges in 2014. Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections....

It is my hope we can work together to stop misinformation and misleading marketing from the start....

"Nice health insurance company ya got there. Shame if anything were to happen to it . . ."

Health Care "Reform" Passes: Will it Reform Anything?

If the major goals of this bill were to allow coverage for all citizens, and simultaneously reduce the price of that coverage, my prediction is that this bill will fail spectacularly on both counts, and indeed could make things considerably worse than they are now. There are two key parts of the bill that turn the current system on its head:

The first part requires insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. This means, for example, that someone who has smoked two packs a day for thirty years cannot be denied health insurance for his newly discovered lung cancer, even if he has never paid a dime into the insurance system previously. This is obviously very bad for insurance companies, since the incentive to buy insurance before a major health crisis hits is effectively removed. With everybody signing up to take money out of the system, but no one signing up to put money in, insurance companies would be unable to operate.

To attempt to fix this problem, the bill introduces a new "individual mandate" that requires all citizens to buy health insurance or face a fine (to be filed with your tax return each year). This fine starts at 1% of your income, or $90, whichever is higher. By 2016, the fine will be 2.5% of your income, or $695, whichever is higher. The goal, of course, is to force healthy people into paying into the system so their insurance premiums can subsidize the sick people taking money out of the system.

There is a huge practical problem with this plan (not including any philosophical, moral, or constitutional objections, which abound as well).

Things Nancy Pelosi Has Taught Me About Government

1. Politicians need the "courage" to pass laws over the objections of the American people they claim to serve. (Link)
2. Politicians need to pass laws first so we can examine them later to make sure they make sense. (Link)
3. Bipartisan support doesn't mean getting votes from the other party. (Link)

Oddly enough, I don't remember any of those lessons from my federal government class.  Maybe I was sick that day . . .