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Trump’s Potential VP Pick Banned from 17% of her own state
Att. conix: How Big Pharma is fighting Biden’s program to lower seniors’ drug costs
"[...]Now read the other part of the equation on Medicare Advantage plans. The big health insurance companies will not be getting paid as much, that is not cutting anything, except that annual big boost that health insurance companies enjoyed in the past. "
In court cases nationwide, drug companies are trying to block a new law that would cut prices on drugs for high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and diabetes
By Tony Romm
March 11, 2024 at 6:29 a.m. EDT
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
All links
TRENTON, N.J. — Pharmaceutical giants are mounting a vigorous legal battle against President Biden’s plan to lower seniors’ prescription drug costs, urging federal judges here and around the country to invalidate a new program that aims to reduce the price of medications for high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
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In a flurry of lawsuits, these drugmakers have blasted the government initiative as unconstitutional, defended their pricing practices and warned that regulation could undermine future cures — even as millions of older Americans say they are struggling to afford essential treatments.
[What to know about the Biden administration’s drug price negotiations
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/08/29/medicare-drug-price-negotiations-facts/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_5 ]
The legal wrangling appears primed to reach the Supreme Court, which could carry lasting implications for the government’s ability to regulate health-care prices broadly. The stakes are also enormous for Biden, who ran in 2020 on a pledge to fulfill a longtime promise — made by both parties — to ease a key financial strain on older Americans.
The pharmaceutical industry specifically seeks to block a new law that enables Medicare to negotiate the price of select drugs under its prescription benefit, known as Part D. The idea is modeled after similar systems internationally, which have helped lower costs in other countries even as Americans face sky-high prices for some of the same treatments.
Enacted in 2022 as part of Biden’s signature economic package, the Inflation Reduction Act, the law requires the administration to identify an initial set of 10 drugs to negotiate. The list was unveiled in August ..https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/08/29/medicare-drug-price-negotiations/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10 .. and includes the blood-thinner Eliquis, the heart-failure medication Farxiga and the diabetes pill Jardiance.
[Insert: OK, Eliquis is sold here under the same name. Been on it since my mini-stroke. Cost to me was $6.50 for a long time, fairly recently it upped to $7.70. Let's have a look on the packet. Yep, "Apixaban 5mg 60", Here's the crunch: Full cost $90.73. That must be what it costs Australia's Medicare. Ok, i'm on the pension so it costs others, looks like, $31.60 .. https://www.pbs.gov.au/medicine/item/2735Y , whatever out dollar was to yours when Medicare negotiated the price. I faintly recall someone else here is on it too?? If so what's the cost now. My 7.70 would be today 4.94 .. https://wise.com/au/currency-converter/aud-to-usd-rate .. for you.
While manufacturers have since engaged in price discussions with the administration, they have also unleashed a blitz of legal challenges meant to upend the entire system. The intensity of their opposition was on display Thursday, as four pharmaceutical giants urged a federal judge in New Jersey to terminate the program before seniors would see any change to their drug costs.
Lawyers for Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen, Novartis and Novo Nordisk offered an array of objections to the program, arguing that it constituted an illegal taking of their drugs, for example, and wrongly carried the threat of steep financial penalties. Some companies also claimed that merely signing a contract would be unconstitutional because it would force them to acknowledge in public that a lower price is a fairer one.
“This program would have a debilitating effect on plaintiffs’ ability to compete and innovate,” said Kevin King, a lawyer for Janssen, which makes Xarelto, an anti-blood-clot medicine, and Stelara, prescribed for psoriatic arthritis. Both are subject to negotiation.
[ As drugmakers slam Medicare price controls, Wall Street shrugs
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/29/medicare-drug-price-pharma-companies-stock/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_16 ]
Over roughly five hours of arguments, the judge in the case — Zahid Quraishi, a Biden appointee — frequently pressed the industry about its claims, noting at one point that the drug companies seemed to be portraying themselves as “Mother Theresas” that “develop drugs for free.”
The lawyers’ criticisms of the program echoed years of attacks from industry lobbyists, who signaled anew this month that they are committed to preventing the Biden administration from striking agreements to lower prices under Medicare.
“We feel confident that ultimately justice will prevail here, and we’ll keep pushing along,” said James Stansel, the general counsel of PhRMA, the industry’s leading lobbying group.
The legal campaign offers the most immediate test for one of Biden’s prized legislative accomplishments, which relaxed a longtime prohibition .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/08/29/medicare-drug-price-negotiations-facts/?itid=lk_inline_manual_22 .. against Medicare negotiating drug costs directly with manufacturers. Hours after court arguments concluded in Trenton, the president called on Congress to preserve and expand the very program that pharmaceutical giants are trying to unwind.
“Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere else,” he said during his State of the Union address. “It’s wrong, and I’m ending it.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/11/pharma-drug-priding-biden-negotiations/
Please all, make sure all you know know.
That's a damn good life mission. And as you have said many times there
are lots of children and others, who really appreciate that in you too.
shermann7, Thanks. Good to know all is still well. Cheers to both of you. Sounds funny, will check it out.
LOL Sorry to have mislead you. I was talking about giving the female - wtf male - God of so many,
only some of the years you mentioned. The years, lol, that so many others only think she deserves.
A good point. Should he exist, God has done a pretty poor job with humans over the past five or six thousand years. Or more.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174277222
I was only giving their - trans even, who knows - God 5000 years of your suggestion.
My fault Boebert got in the way there. My "she" was too left field.
Break time.
Lime Time, Gawd. How do you survive not knowing your government pills are not available in Australia. Maybe also you don't approve of Biden getting Medicare the freedom to negotiate prescription drugs for seniors. That plan is being fought in court. Our people negotiate. That's freedom for seniors don't seem to care about.
LOL Give her 5,000.
WHEW! Enjoy!!
Slime time, you must mean.
And just think, God's real close friends fighting with each other. He can't even stop
fights in his own family, who would expect him to do better with our - our - earth.
LOLOL As America does.
Forgot before to say GL Monday. Will think of you Tuesday here.
As devastated as he was when he cancelled in France. Gotta save the hair.
Trump cancels WW1 memorial at U.S. cemetery in France due to rain
By Luke Baker
November 11, 20188:36 AM GMT+11Updated 5 years ago
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1NF0NU/
Me too, yum, but would have to cut into mouth pieces, or unmake the sandwich, to dig in comfortably.
From a right-wing Israel paper an opinion ..
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/nick-bostroms-deep-utopia/
for those who have trouble like me sitting through 45 mins. of talk.
Gives an idea or the book. Thanks.
Yep, Running out of steam though, and still plenty haven't read.
Hope so. Boebert is consulting God too ..
https://www.newsweek.com/lauren-boebert-reveals-what-god-told-her-about-moving-districts-1875409 .
LOL Trump will do a lot of shifts, back flips and adjustment of statements before
NOv. Actually depends more on his audience at the time than much else. G'day.
LOL
LOL Johnny knew. Knew the devil too
That really was good news, good to see more detail .. bit more ...
9 hr 45 min ago
Several hardline Republicans still opposed to ousting Speaker Mike Johnson, despite calling foreign aid bills “a slap in the face”
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer and Manu Raju
Several House Republican hardliners said they are still opposed to ousting Speaker Mike Johnson, despite their frustration after he brought a foreign aid package to the floor, though Rep. Lauren Boebert warned the effort is “gaining momentum.”
“I don't see how that solves anything. I am opposed to a vote on motion to vacate, but it is gaining momentum,” she told CNN’s Manu Raju. “Maybe there's a point where Speaker Johnson listens to Thomas Massie and resigns and we choose a new speaker, but I don't know who that would be and if they could do better."
Rep. Troy Nehls said it was “a slap in the face to America” for Johnson to not stick with his demand for border security policy changes in exchange for Ukraine aid.
“What he's showing is that, in my humble opinion, we are allowing Chuck Schumer to run the House of Representatives, and to me that's very disturbing,” he added, referring to the Democratic Senate majority leader.
However, Nehls argued there is no alternative to Johnson at this point. “Who's gonna want the job, but who could do it?"
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green agreed, noting that he was disappointed in today’s foreign aid bill votes, but that he still won’t support removing Johnson. “It's not a failure of leadership, but it's a difference of opinion,” he said.
Your missing link .. https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/house-vote-ukraine-israel-taiwan-aid-04-20-24/_30753837f6b276a7383d0f0e96934af8 .. tia.
Better to say, Rep. Troy Nehls, Johnson is allowing the House to function rather than totally
allowing a tiny minority of far-right ratbags to maintain an absurdly dysfunctional situation.
Won't say told you so. You cool. You know how strictly strongly i relate. Is hard for me to stay home this weekend, but gonna make it. Then eight days to next income day is gonna be hell. Gonna make it too. That will make this string about a six fortnight fail. Start again your 29th. All good.
PS: I most always save some in the bottle, then let it sit for some days, or longer. For fun, and so i have some handy. Is good exercise. Works for me.
OOps. Ok. Yay. VPN worked. eom
hap0206, Trump has been found liable for. Not convicted. Remember.
"Nah -- you are on the right track -- we have convicted a presidential candidate with sexual assault occurring only in the imagination of a female sexual predator -- convicted him of an imagined error in valuing realestate -- attempting to convict him of a legal transaction of paying for non-disclosure which is done thousands of times per year in business and personal affairs -- you may not have experienced it but having sex with beautiful blonds who hit on you goes with the territory of the rich and famous men -- ask JFK/mm -- hey if you put away the bottle, clean yourself up, it could happen to you -- nah -- it's a tough world -- getting old is not for whimps"
You lie about her. You lie about him. You lie about real estate. You get the falsifying records to influence an election result very wrong.
The indictment centers on allegations that Trump falsified internal business records at his private company while trying to cover up an effort to illegally influence the 2016 election by arranging payments that silenced claims potentially harmful to his candidacy.
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0
That's a lie of yours too. No woman would do what Stormy has done if she wasn't terribly violated.
You said long time ago Trump would deserve any decision he got from a jury. Now you don't. So you lied back then when you said it too.
If ya don't care life is much easier. hap has it easy. It's easy too to not care much about hap's, and others like him, posts here.
Assuming Johnson consulted as he said he was would always do, Good God. Well done, that God. Well done this time.
"All Johnson did was give Ukraine aid a vote, with the bill passing overwhelmingly. But the modern GOP has come to expect the speaker to block certain bipartisan priorities from getting an up-or-down. It’s one thing to give legislation that will fail a vote on the House floor, but it’s heresy to give something a vote that will actually pass—that is, if a small conservative minority deems it insufficiently conservative.
The one thing Johnson did violate with the Ukraine vote—ever so slightly—was the so-called Hastert Rule, named after disgraced former GOP Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who was later convicted for sexually assaulting boys decades before his time in the Speaker’ s office.
Hastert started a “majority of the majority” rule for putting bills on the floor—a standard which Hastert himself broke a dozen times when he was in charge.
Regardless, GOP Speakers have generally tried to live by that standard (even though every Republican Speaker since has broken the rule). But if there’s one argument the conservatives pissed off with Johnson and the Ukraine aid vote can make, it’s that one.
But Johnson’s patience for those rules had finally run out. He put his foot down, spoke publicly about his belief that this was the right thing to do, and said he was prepared to let the chips fall as they may."
Your - https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-are-republicans-playing-politics-with-ukraine
Good luck. And never forget that many different members of different animal species would - would - miss you. Hope you feel shitty after the blast, like i do after a slot blowout. Only let it last for a day though. Have fun, zooman. Then a relax, settle down is good.
PS: Told you long time ago total abstention was never my go either. You will find your path maybe earlier than i have. Getting closer. LOL
LOL Thanks for the reminder, zab. Process. Right.
Had a feeling it might have been you in some of my words to newmedman, then the trust thing worked both ways so let it be.
"But my opinion should not rule his conduct he chooses to use. Nor should I have abused the board to abuse him. I have no real right to drag stuff out like I did. I'm sorry for that and feel cheapened for it.
But I take nothing back because I know more of the past. And he hasn't changed all those years. Since he can't attack me in PM, it's not that much fun for him to trouble himself."
That's all i was sort of alluding to. I also have a feeling now that i said to you earlier
maybe he's here because you are, you reflected that maybe below too.
"He made some defensive posts/attacks which is expected and don't really blame him, I'm a nobody but it's like, he's thinking, Okay the asshole attacked me so I'm just going to hang on his boards to make him nuts for awhile.
P - He zinged me a couple of times and made me react. But I think that's over. So if the member was doing this for effect it'll go away. I'm not silly enough to think it's wholly aimed at me like I mean anything to that member because I know I don't. Basically, this member from all his posts has never cared for the general population here anyhow. Just suckers to rip off."
All good. No problem ever on any of yours there. Repeat, it was appreciated as any well-meant insight on most anything or anyone is.
Appreciated.
Your "whole point" is a stretch and a notion could be of worth rather than just ""superiority"." Notice no caps necessary.
I found Joseph Campbell interesting, until i didn't so much any more. Over 60 years ago, it's virtually all disappeared now. Ah, yes. Some came back on reading the bit i bolded below. Since i was reading in attempts to figure out what the stuff life was all about and not to develop story writing, the sense of a belief in the secret, and in mythology, started wearing a bit thin after a time.
This Martin Turner knew/knows him, and the field, better than i ever could.
Why do some people hate Joseph Campbell? (Campbell seemed to make a lot of sense with his
concept of "follow your bliss" and all kinds of other ideas. What angle is the critic coming from?)
Martin Turner
·
Follow Author of 'The One Basic Plot'2y
I’ve never encountered anyone who hated him.
His ideas were popular for a while in literature, and then abandoned because they only work for a small subset of stories. Christopher Booker tried to revive the idea that there are a limited number of stories in The Seven Basic Plots. However, most people who reviewed the book found that there were numerous counter-examples.
There is a particular seam of ‘heroic journey’ writing which Campbell was able to identify. However, those stories tend to be quite basic, and essentially mythical or fairy-tale. However, even most fairy-tales don’t actually fit his paradigm.
In their desperation to find plots that work, many writers have been reading Campbell or his imitators over the last thirty or so years. One of the characteristics of the way we think is that if someone shows you a pattern and tells you that it is the secret pattern underlying everything else, you will start to fit other things around it.
So, Star Wars is clearly a Campbell-type narrative, but it should be, because Lucas was influenced by Campbell. The Lord of the Rings isn’t, unless you reinterpret it. Christopher Booker was accused of doing this.
Actually, Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings and pretty much every other book do follow a pattern, but it’s a much simpler one, and it was identified by Aristotle. It is that stories proceed by discoveries and reversals. Since the middle ages, we properly have double reversals rather than single reversals, where, to make a win look greater, we first start to lose, and to make a loss more bitter, we first start to win. That’s the basic ‘plot behind all plots’, but if you try to get more elaborate than that, then you start excluding some of the greatest stories, or else saying they are about a different character than the protagonist. It’s a brave man who says that Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, Eliot, Conan Doyle and Tolkien all mistook their characters.
As long as you accept that Campbell had a short-lived theory in the late 1940s which has since been dismissed, but has had significant influence in some market sectors, you are unlikely to encounter much hate. If you insist on telling your literature professor that they have misunderstood everything and if only they read Campbell it will all be clear, then you may find yourself on the wrong end of a sarcastic remark, which you may perceive as hate.
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-some-people-hate-Joseph-Campbell-Campbell-seemed-to-make-a-lot-of-sense-with-his-concept-of-follow-your-bliss-and-all-kinds-of-other-ideas-What-angle-is-the-critic-coming-from
Sorry, should have made clear that comment was not meant to be personal in any way at all. And, of
course, agree that many posts need not and do not get a reply. I'm thankful so many of mine don't. LOL
You have said plenty for any here who don't know the guy to understand he has plenty of skeletons in his closet. It is appreciated. You also should know you are trusted enough for others here to believe there is some substance in what you have said. That said, and i know you do understand, that now he should be able to post here on other matters without being threatened with further exposure. I guess it would help if he would acknowledge at least some of what you have said is valid. On, the other hand, as far as i understand, you, of course, have the right to go down that course if you wanted to.