Ferrari Mailing List: Re: The Price of Pharmaceuticals (+ the slowness of Scott Speed)

Steve at al:
I completely agree that propping up sundry socialist medical schemes  
by burdening the American taxpayer with all the R&D costs stinks. But  
government intervention is a poor solution.
Example: as we speak Congress has busied itself with enacting a  
prohibition against the importation of foreign prescription drugs by  
the consumer. This will only raise US drug prices. If American  
consumers are free to buy whatever they need wherever it is cheapest,  
those manufacturing said pharmaceuticals will soon abandon tiered  
pricing based on national boundaries and allocate their costs  
globally. Further if certain countries ignore our pharmaceutical  
patents, the pharmaceutical manufacturer affected can always cut off  
new shipments of any and all drugs made to that region.
The marketplace beats regulation every time. We should rip down any  
restraints on international commerce in prescription drugs, not the  
reverse.
Just my $0.02 worth.
ken
Obligatory F1 content: is Scott Speed in danger of unemployment?

On May 11, 2007, at 4:19 PM, BRIGANDBAR [at] aol.com wrote:
Ken is correct that the actual cost of producing a unit of a  
medication is

only a nominal cost of the drug itself for the reasons that he has  
clearly

articulated.
I would, however, question why the patient in the U.S. is expected to

subsidize the socialized medical programs of the rest of the first  
world, as  well

as patients in the third world. There is absolutely no reason why  
the costs

detailed by Ken should not be fairly distributed amongst all of the  
end users of

 the world, first and third. And the simple, while I generally eschew

government  intervention it is justified in this instance because  
other governmental

entities are intervening to create artificially low prices in their

nations/markets.
This simple solution would be to place an export duty on all   
pharmaceuticals

exported or produced under license from the United States equal  to  
200% of

the differential between the mean price in the U.S. and the price  
to  be paid

by the purchaser nation. Perhaps more simply explained by example,  
if  Canada

pays one dollar per dosage unit for a specific pharmaceutical while  
the  mean

price in the U.S. is five dollars per dosage unit then the export  
duty  would

be eight dollars ($5.00-$1.00=$4.00 x 2 = $8.00). This would result  
in a  cost

to Canada of nine dollars per dosage unit. Of course, it might be   
preferable

to price this pharmaceutical uniformly at say three dollars per   
dosage unit

eliminating any export duty yet resulting in a price to the  
producer  of six

dollars for two dosage units, precisely what they are receiving  
under the

current price model in the example. And, the price would be uniform  
for both

Canadians and Americans and each would contribute fairly for the  
fixed cost of  the

pharmaceutical at time of production, including an amortized cost of

research and development.
Of course this is an oversimplification of the economics of  
medicine and

pharmacy, but it is only submitted as an example of what could be  
done using

similar numbers and pricing structures. The bottom line would be  
that American

consumers would not be subsidizing the socialist world in the venue  
of  health.
Dr. Steve
1964 Rolls  Royce Silver Cloud III    1975 Pontiac GV Conv.
1980 MB  450SL                 1982 RR  Corniche
1988 Rolls Royce Silver  Spur         1994 F-350 Powerstroke  4x4
1996  Bronco                                  2000 Lincoln Town Car
1995 Ferrari 348  Spyder                 2004 Excursion
+ Audrey's 2x MB's
Dr. Stephen B. Spies, CES,  CFI
Director, Forensic Sciences Laboratory
Explosives Engineering  Technologies
Legal Notice:
This message does not constitute  legal or other professional  
advice, nor

does it create an Attorney/Client, or  other confidential or fiduciary

relationship between the sender and/or any other  party
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail (including  attachments) is  
covered by

the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U. S.  C., Sections  
2510-2521, and

is intended only for the person or entity to which  it is  
addressed, and may

contain confidential or privileged material. Any  unauthorized  
review, use,

disclosure, dissemination, copying, forwarding or  distribution is  
prohibited.

If you are not the intended recipient contact the  sender by reply  
e-mail and

destroy all copies of the original message. If you  are the  
intended recipient

but do not wish to receive communications through  this medium  
please so

advise the sender immediately.
Electronic  Transmission Security Notice: E-mail transmission  
cannot be

guaranteed  to be secure or error-free. The sender does not accept  
liability for

any errors  or omissions in the contents of the message that arises  
as a result

of its  electronic (e-mail) transmission.

************************************** See what's free at http:// 
www.aol.com.

_________________________________________________________________

To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options, please visit:

http://lists.ferrarilist.com/mailman/options/ferrari/rentiers% 
40mail.com
Sponsored by BidNip.com eBay Auction Sniper
http://www.BidNip.com/
and F1 Headlines
http://www.F1Headlines.com/

Re: The Price of Pharmaceuticals (+ the slowness of Scott Speed)	<– Date –> <– Thread –>
From: ken rentiers (rentiersmac.com)
Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 15:00:13 -0700 (PDT)