A Controversial Order
The following article is not to be taken as professional medical advice. Your author is not, never has been, nor intends to be a doctor. Please consult your primary health professional before making any changes to your medical well-being.
The signature legislation of the Obama Administration was the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare. While reactions and results were mixed, one thing remains to this day, the price of prescription drugs in America is unbearably high.
In countries around the world, drug prices are much lower. This might be due to many factors, such as a government-run healthcare system that artificially lowers the price after high income taxes. Another potential factor is that some companies will charge more if they know that the person can afford it. As such, in a more affluent country, such as America, prices go up. Others claim that the price is high because America created most of the drugs and thus is bearing some of the cost. Regardless of the reason, prescription drugs are more expensive in America.
During Joe Biden’s term in office, he claimed to have lowered the cost of Insulin from $400 a month down to $35 a month. However, even PolitiFact found this to be false. Politifact did admit that Biden capped the price at $35 a month, but found his campaign trail claim of an average $400 monthly cost exaggerated.
They found on the low end, that people would pay $452 a year on insulin or $996 on the high end if they were uninsured. This means that with a few calculations, the price of Insulin was closer to $38 a month.
By my calculations, this means that Biden is claiming to have dropped the price by 91.25%, but in reality, it was only dropped by 7.08% or less than $3. Such a small shift may also have been related to market forces.
Presidents throughout our history and from both sides of the aisle will take credit for anything that benefits them and distance or blame the prior administration when things go poorly. That is a sad part of living in a republic.
So, up until now, government intervention has largely not hit the main reason for the high cost of healthcare in America, prescription drug costs. Now President Donald Trump has issued a controversial executive order mandating that drug prices be lowered. How this can be done without creating a price ceiling is up for debate.
A price ceiling is when governments mandate that the price for a good or service cannot go above a certain amount. This can be seen in rent control, which makes housing less affordable. In our case, we also have a problem. Because the drug company might not be able to recoup their costs, the drug may just become unavailable or costs will be cut, by measures such as changing the formula or cutting corners in production. Both of which could be detrimental to anyone taking the drug.
Where does that leave us? Are we to choose between expensive drugs or subpar products? Not necessarily. You might want to consult your doctor or pharmacist to see if there is a cheaper or more effective alternative.
It is also possible that your problems might be spiritual or caused by a poor diet. A relative of mine met with a holistic specialist who found that something was missing in her personal life, with her family. Previously she had cancer and after taking this advice is cancer free for almost a decade.
You might also consider if you are vitamin deficient in any way. Without the proper nutrients, your body cannot do the things that it needs to do.
In Eden, God gave every green plant for food. He told Adam to eat the fruit and the seed (Genesis 1:29). Today we eat Big Macs and fries. Maybe diet and our social lives play more of a factor than we thought.