Obama’s Drug Shortage Demagoguery
My column dismantles President Obama’s 98th executive order, which proposes to Do Something about prescription drug shortages. (The other 97 are listed here.) The White House spin doctors have been busy stirring up panic to justify circumventing Congress. As usual, the Obama cure IS the disease. Government needs a Hippocratic oath.
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Obama’s Drug Shortage Demagoguery
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2011
President Obama couldn’t wait to trample over the legislative process again. This week, he issued his 98th executive order on an irresistibly exploitatable policy issue: prescription drug shortages. Soon, “One a Day” won’t just be a multivitamin. It’ll be the rate of White House administrative fiats.
Federal officials darkly suggest that selfish industry “stockpiling” is endangering Americans’ lives. “If we find out that prices are being driven up because shortages are being made worse by manipulations of companies or distributors,” the White House further threatened, “agencies will be empowered to stop those practices. And the FDA and the Department of Justice will be investigating any kinds of abuses that would lead to drug shortages.”
As usual, the underlying reasons for these marketplace conditions are gobsmackingly complicated. As usual, a significant portion of the fault lies with the government — not evil corporate “abuses.” And as usual, Obama’s unilaterally imposed “solutions” promise to do more harm than good.
There’s no question that drug shortages exist and that they have been on the rise. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 246 drugs are now scarce. It’s a record. Why? I’ve rounded up just a few of the reasons:
– DEA rules. In some cases, manufacturers have been ensnared by federal Drug Enforcement Administration regulations. Take Adderall, the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication. As ABC News reported earlier this year, Shire Pharmaceuticals makes Adderall “and is under contract to provide the generic form of the drug to Teva Pharmaceuticals and Impax Laboratories, which mass produce the generic.” According to Shire, their supplies have been hampered by DEA restrictions on the amphetamine-based medications, which are tightly monitored controlled substances.
– FDA rules. According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and other professional organizations, “several drug shortages (e.g., concentrated morphine sulfate solution, levothyroxine injection) have been precipitated by actual or anticipated action by the FDA as part of the Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which is designed to increase enforcement against drugs that lack FDA approval to be marketed in the United States.” These industry experts point to additional new drug manufacturing approval processes that are “lengthy and unpredictable, which limits their ability to develop reliable production schedules.”
– Manufacturing problems and generic drug status. Sterile injectables such as Propofol, a widely used anesthesia drug, are notoriously difficult to make. The timeline is long; interruptions in manufacturing one drug can affect multiple products. Sterile injectables can be contaminated easily. Several batches have been recalled in recent years because of dirty particulate matter found in vials.
Recall and liability headaches have led manufacturers to get out of the business. Moreover, as low-priced generic drugs, sterile injectables just aren’t as attractive to pharma companies already weathering tough economic times. When drugs go off patent, the prices decrease. The rest is elementary.
“If the costs associated with making a drug begin to outweigh the profits,” the New England Journal of Medicine explained, “companies may wish to discontinue production of the drug in favor of a newer, more profitable product. If the number of companies making an older drug decreases, and there is a delay or problem in manufacturing, shortages can and do occur.”
– Bush-era Medicare price controls and Obamacare price controls. Everyone from the free-market Wall Street Journal editorial board to renowned death panelist Ezekiel Emanuel agrees that low prices yield inevitable shortages. President Bush and Republicans imposed a 6 percent cap on cancer drug price increases that took effect six years ago. Health care analyst John Goodman adds that Obamacare exacerbated a separate federal price distortion, which requires drug companies to provide rebates to certain hospitals and clinics “of 23.1 percent for brand drugs; and 13 percent for generic drugs off of their average manufacturer’s price on qualifying outpatient drug use.”
Emanuel, the controversial former Obama health care guru, provided an unexpected shot in the Democrats’ market-bashing arm in a recent New York Times op-ed: “You don’t have to be a cynical capitalist to see that the long-term solution is to make the production of generic cancer drugs more profitable.”
But instead of a sober debate about the wildly divergent reasons for some of these shortfalls, Obama’s perpetual campaign machine gave us taxpayer-funded videos that yank the heartstrings and smear pharmaceutical companies. Instead of an honest assessment of the proposed government “fixes,” Washington bureaucrats are using patients as human shields to disguise new power grabs.
Unfortunately, the only cure for Team Obama’s overdose of toxic demagoguery lies at the ballot box. We can’t wait.
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Further reading:
John Goodman: Rx Drug Shortages: Regulation Can Be Deadly
Michael Mandel: Pebbles in the Stream: Does the FDA Slow Medical Technology Innovation?
Walter Olson: A Hospital Drug Shortage Made In Washington
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soon a shortage on asperin
Sock Puppet and his minions have mucked up the entire health Care System to such an extent, will we evem have Health care in another year? Obama Care causes issues, is causing the issues -
You mean there’s a relationship between supply, demand, and price? Why don’t they teach that sort of thing in schools?
On November 4th, 2011 at 9:48 am, John Deaux said:
They used too John but now, if you cannot find it on facebook it is not useful.
OMG! It’s Doctor Giggles!
There HAS to be something in the Constitution against this crap he is pulling! 98 executive orders and counting…bypassing Congress and ramming very bad bills down our throats. This isn’t the way our Country was set up, and it is a complete disaster for everyone. By the time this bozo is voted out, he will have mucked us up for decades. Great legacy he is leaving as the first Black POTUS! “His people” will be so proud to read about this administration in the history books!
i was taking a wonderful pill for high blood pressure. thanks to all of the above, i had to drop this pill, and take another pill, and change my diet. most water pills drain your body of potassium. so the pill i was taking had extra potassium in it, to stop the problem, but since i have been having extreme difficulty getting it, i now have to eat or drink more foods with potassium. the pill is a generic, but nobody seems to know why it is so hard to get. and another pill i take to slow my ticker, has increased nearly 80%, thanks obama.
An executive order to demonize industry and “resolve” a problem created by government. The tactic is called Straw Man: making your own enemy so you can knock him down and play hero, the savior. Setting up the straw man and knocking him down. A game as old as the mountains. People fall for it.
There is a proportional relationship between the extent of government intervention in healthcare and the increasing shortages in medical resources. DUH! ! !
By the way, speaking of regulations…this democrat congresswoman was on Cavuto yesterday and she was defending the massive regulations. Cavuto said that they were passing about 10 new regulations PER DAY and it was stiffling job growth. The brainless twit congresswoman said that Obama was doing a lot about that…he has already eliminated 5 regulations. Five. Period. She thought that was just fantastic. Cavuto looked at her like she just stepped off the mother ship. She also made sure to mention that Republicans want dirty air, dirty water, and poison food.
Some people are not worth debating, they are that stinkin’ stupid. That woman was one of them. Can’t remember her name…don’t want to.
Also, I know why Obama has to by-pass Congress for everything he wants done. NO ONE in Congress likes anything he proposes, not even the dems. And, he isn’t in DC long enough to convince anyone…he has completely abandoned his job a POTUS and is now campaigning for another four years of RULE.
I am absolutely astonished that ANYONE still claims they will vote for this imposter. He is the worst disaster to hit this country since Viet Nam.
Hey happy. Careful with the “number of executive orders” argument. It’s a common thing that libtards like to see–it leaves you wide open for the lame “moral equivalency” canard that libs like to use to justify whatever behavior they want. They just pull up the numbers of EOs that other presidents have issued. You can find a list here.
The problem is not so much the number of EOs as it is the nature of the orders. With Obama (actually, most democrat presidents) it is a direct attempt to end-run congress and subvert the separation of powers.
It’s the nature, not the number.
Excellent analysis Michelle.
When the government gets into any area of commerce, whether it’s drug production or street production, the product is shoddy and the price is exorbitant because of crony capitalism. We waste tons of money on the military, but that task is listed in our constitution as the one thing the federal government is required to do. No social engineering or commercial enterprise are part of the constitution, so why are they programs we are forced to pay for.
And what exactly will this lates EO do when the drug manufactures just close their doors and say the hell with it?
Re pic:
Obowmao: I just shot up this penicillin, so tell Mo I’m good to go!
Ooh, that was bit over.
Considering what we don’t know of TEH WON’s medical, nor much of any other history, nor his past, if not present, private personal activities, not really.
Easy….Obama’s admin simply takes over and the fed goes directly into the drug making business. What could go wrong with that?
Price controls, police controls, regualtory controls, no tort reform, miriad government mandates? Good. I don’t see a problem here that more incompetent political tampering can’t exacerbate.
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HI TRUESOLDIER–#14. No problemo–for those who live on the Northern or Southern borders. Canada will sell drugs that they get from American companies at a slight (500 percent) markup.
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And for those on the Mexican border–the drug gangs will just make some and sell them for a 1000 percent profit. No FDA approval needed in either case. They will just take over the Mexican pharma industies.
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A win-win for the internationally thinking Comrade Obama and His Ilk. After all–exports are good for a country. And He is exporting the hell out of our jobs and businesses already.
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Thanks, Comrade–we will reward you properly in Nov. 2012.
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John Bibb
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Those who put their faith in government – like the Obama administration – are forever wanting to ‘control’ the market, and always with unintended consequences, always bad.
They are constitutionally incapable of letting the free market work. They are socialists/communists – what else would you expect?
Primum non nocere
“First, do no harm.”
I like it!
However, all the Democrats and about 2/3 of the Republicans wouldn’t be able to choke out the words.
Typical of the big government crowd:
1. Create problem
2. Exploit problem
3. Divert blame
4. Take credit for solving/helping problem
5. If problem is worse, claim solution lies in more government
Rumor has it there is a lot more Propofol on the market since the Conrad Murray trial.
Just change Hippocratic to Hypocritic and they’d do fine.
What’s Latin for “Don’t get caught”?
Another thing to think about. All the trial lawyers who sue for anything that a drug might do to you? Have you seen all the ads on the tube if you had a rash, headache, etc. etc. from taking the drug, YOU COULD get money! No drug is 100% problem free and these lawyers cause the drug companies to pay millions for settlements.
L
E.B. Farnum: Some ancient Italian maxim fits our situation, whose particulars escape me.
Francis Wolcott: Is the gist that I’m sh!t out of luck?
E.B. Farnum: Did they speak that way then?
Monica Lewinsky.
Regards,
Peter H.
It’s been 40-45 years…but, I believe it would be, “Non prehenderi”.
That’s my best guess.
(Online grammar not quite as good as the books, which are at home.)
My head exploded while reading this!
@Peter,
I didn’t say Pig Latin!
Ooh! Did I say that out loud?
I think Monica Lewinsky is Italian…or is it Jewish? I suppose Clinton would consider her a Latin Lover.
Ha! Good one!
bho doesn’t want to solve problems, he wants it to appear that he solves them. He can’t order that shortages go away. After a long history of passing bills without knowing the content of impact on the market place, is it a wonder that undesirable consequences appear? Maybe the bills aren’t read anymore because those doing the reading can’t understand what they were reading. Then there is the disconnect between what the legislators say the bill does and what the bill actually says it does.
Why? They already adhere to an oath, called;
The Hypocritic Oath
“First, do no harm…to me, or my party! The country…eh, not so much! “
Good one + 100!!
Thank you, Ms. Malkin, for providing this information. I have looked in various places for details on this subject and it is really hard to find solid information.
But, why am I not surprised. Everything this administration touches seems to fall apart…can they all really be this stupid?
They crack down on this while scams like Herbalife ignore FDA orders since 1973 not to say they can be used for weight loss are not even touched.
I’ve got a few friends on FB who are rabidly liberal (and they openly acknowledge that fact), but they are very pissed at The Obamessiah’s prescription drug policies. A couple of them are migraine sufferers, and one other has children with severe ADD who require medication in order to be able to function at all.
Because of the policies in place, their medications have either gotten harder to obtain, or have increased in cost dramatically. As a result, they are even considering voting against Obama, who they otherwise adore, in the next election, just to get someone else in office who might undo the damage to their ability to live normal (albeit medicated) lives.
Precisely. As laid out in the Constitution, only the legislative branch can enact legislation, and it is the job of the executive branch to execute those laws. (Funny how those branch titles have meanings…)
But somewhere along the line, the legislative branch got weary of the details of lawmaking and decided to pass broader, more sweeping laws, and leave it up to the executive branch to work out the details. That’s how we got the massive bureaucracy that we suffocate under today.
If our government functioned in a reasonable and representative manner, EO’s would be the vehicle by which the executive branch would execute the general intent of the legislation passed by the legislative branch.
But under the dysfunctional model employed by The Obama, it’s to enact regulations that are NOT intended by the legislative branch, rather instead as dictatorial fiat.
Off topic: By gawd, please watch what Rachel Maddow did to Herman Cain tonight. I mean, please, this is brilliant.
Okay. Carry on.
There is one major reason that there are shortages of needed drugs to treat serious illnesses: Product liability lawsuits. Obama never mentions that his Secretary of HHS Katherine Sabelius was a full time employee and lobbyist for the Kanasas Trial Lawyers Association. That is a subdivision of the notorious ATLA, the national trial lawyers lobby. ATLA and its state affiliates are relentlessly effective lobbyists. They sprinkle around campaign money like Johnny Appleseed and the results show. Products liability laws and court cases almost always favor plaintiffs (the people who are suing). Look at what Merck went through a few years ago. The biggest trial was held in some dusty Texas town where the lawyer suing Merck was allowed to stir up the jury and give a populist speech about bug business that has nothing to do with the facts of the case. And you can always find 6 simpletons to put on a jury who will be happy to destroy an out of state company.
Obama promised the trial lawyers that his health care bill would have nothing to rein in medical malpractice cases. For once, he was true to his word.
Notwithstanding the fact that Government intervention and actions distorts the free market, no Republcan candidate, other than former Gov Johson, has said that they will repeal the presrciption drug bill. All of the Republican candidates say they want to ‘tweak’ the Rx Bill. I am looking for consistency.
Yes, examaning the motives of the Obama Administration with regard to this excutive order deserves attention and the inconsistentcy of all the Republican candidates also deserves attention.
We were told that the Rx Bill would cost ‘x’, and the reality is that it will cost ’7x’.
Yes, say that you will repeal the Health Care Bill, but be consistent and say that you will also repeal the Rx Bill.
Excessive Government spending began well before the Health Care Bill. Before the stimulus. Before the financial bailout. Before the auto bailout. Before quantitative easing. Before putting wars on the credit card and off budget.
These are all straws on the camels back and each one must be removed. Not just the last one.
Even Ron Paul? I find that hard to believe.
I have no argument as far as it goes, but removing the biggest one (too big to even call it a “straw”) is a lot better than removing none at all, better still than adding to it constantly.
Not such a complicated notion, really.
Big deductible and my prescription costs $160. In Canada $41.95, overnight in a few days. Shortage or racket?
Big deductible and my prescription costs $160. In Canada $41.95, overnight in a few days. Shortage or racket?
think this is bad? watch what he does after he loses the election.
The photo of Obowmoa with a syringe might be more accurate if it was an enema bag and hose.
I wouldn’t watch that #itch for all the money in the world, and especially if “ought to boogie” recommended her show!
Okay. Carry on.
Remember Slick Willie,the smartest guy in the world until the Anointed One came along. Well he said that only a fool would say that government is the problem. This is the Lefts idea of intelligence. No wonder the country is in the shape it’s in.
Neither. It’s a completely different issue.
Drug companies have to recapture their costs of research and development. They can manufacture the drug extremely inexpensively, so they don’t need to make much on each pill to make a profit on the manufacturing.
So single payer countries like Canada can tell the companies to accept $41.95 or take a hike, and the company will accept the manufacturing profit and then squeeze Americans a little harder to get back their research and development costs.
The point is the companies are not the bad guys here. They are responding sensibly to governments behaving tyrannically.
Our own government should regard single payer countries like Canada as engaging in trade war against us. Our government should retaliate, hard.
BTW, this is just one of dozens of ways in which the American Taxpayer is getting massively fleeced for the benefit of the rest of the world.
Our elites are selling us down the river.
“certain hospitals and clinics”
Certain? More waivers.
America has a much greater variety of prescription drugs available than anywhere else in the world.
If Obama were to make drug recalls and side effect liabilities less costly for drug companies, that would help. If patent years were reduced to say 12 years, that would increase the supply of drugs onto the market in the long term.
It used to be 14 years of patent protection, then it was changed to 17 years and now you guys give 20 years.
While 20 years of exclusivity gives a drug company an incentive to introduce a drug on the market, it doesn’t give them much incentive to then try and do better by introducing a much improved drug over their first introduction. Competition can drive innovation as well, but the loss of a patent would be the most motivating factor that would propel multiple drug introductions into the market. This would increase supply, reduce costs to the patients, improve patient outcomes etc.
Many times, as Canadians, we just don’t have the availability of the drug that you guys have. Our government sets the price and the drug companies then only supply a limited number of older, less effective drugs, which are then distributed through Canadian pharmacies.
Overall, while Americans pay more for drugs, you have the newest and best drug options. I would like to have it your way.
At this point in his presidency George Bush had issued over 130 Executive Orders.
Funny that Malkin doesn’t mention that.
Hmmm…..
…on the lighter note: Hear that Greece is looking for a new ‘spend and regulate’ (so-called) leader.
Shouldn’t someone advise ‘teh oone’ that there is a ‘job opening’ that ‘he’ should apply for?
THEY would ‘win’ and WE would ‘win’….
Maybe that “is what” Winning the Future is all about.
I know that Roland. But the med was about $60 before Obamacare. If I shop around, today I can get it around $145. My neighborhood pharm, in a nice town, charges $160. Cost of r&d is not the only thing, greed is a factor. Politics/ Obamacare and location have affected my price.
Unless you are speaking of greed as the lust for power by governments, greed has nothing to do with it at all.
It is not the private sector’s fault when governments’ demonic grasping for control motivates businesses to grab back what they can of their investment more quickly than would otherwise have been sensible.
Yes, Democrats are evil.
Rest assured, Happy, the same mindset of “historians” who are sanitizing textbooks today will re-write the history of the current administration in the name of political correctness.
Barry will do for the health care industry what he is doing for the energy sector. Picture the Solyndra and Lightsquared debacles of the health care industry.