Comments for It's Monday and Robert Samuelson is Confused About Medicare, Again at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://www.cepr.net Sat, 25 May 2013 03:59:07 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/its-monday-and-robert-samuelson-is-confused-about-medicare-again#comment-18270 Here is part of the story: [url]http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304550004577510613860845578.html[/url]. Walgreens and 4 other companies sued Pfizer last month. Basically Pfizer is acting aggressively to prevent competition in the marketplace. Lipitor sales are near $10 billion annually. - David Mon, 20 Aug 2012 08:31:39 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/its-monday-and-robert-samuelson-is-confused-about-medicare-again#comment-18262 I am now 66 and currently on Medicare. My observation is that as we age we need fewer rather than more choice. The current system of Medicare with its vast array of medigap and advantage plans is almost bewildering. I cannot see the market operating efficiently through choice to seniors. Instead I see confusion and poor decision making. - AlanInAZ Mon, 20 Aug 2012 05:52:06 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/its-monday-and-robert-samuelson-is-confused-about-medicare-again#comment-18261 I noticed the same price problem when I had Lipitor refilled and asked for the generic. I called my Medicare supplier and was told that, "Yes, Lipitor is off patent, but nobody else is making it yet and the original patent holder is the only source for the 'generic'." I assume they were telling the truth (or something close to it) since they paid the bulk of the higher cost. - Ethan Mon, 20 Aug 2012 05:21:07 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/its-monday-and-robert-samuelson-is-confused-about-medicare-again#comment-18257 My father pointed out to me Pfizer's manipulation of the post-patent generics market for Lipitor (he takes lipitor .subdidized by Medicare). The generic costs more! Here is a Forbes article (can't vouch for accuracy [url] http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/11/30/pfizers-lipitor-how-big-pharma-blocks-reimbursement-of-generics/ [/url] - David Mon, 20 Aug 2012 03:38:05 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/its-monday-and-robert-samuelson-is-confused-about-medicare-again#comment-18253 This statement by Samuelson caught my eye: [quote]the increasing evidence from large-scale experience is that market mechanisms offer the best chance of reconciling Americans’ desire for personal choice with cost control. If there are better ideas, let’s hear them. Otherwise, we shouldn’t reject the obvious merely because it’s unfamiliar. [/quote] He hasn't heard of better ideas? What about a single-payer healthcare system? That seems like an "obvious" solution, considering that almost every other developed nation on the planet has such a system. Has Samuelson also not heard of the waste that patent monopolies promote? You would think that a columnist at a paper as widely read as the Washington Post would know about all of the views on a particular topic before writing. - JSeydl Mon, 20 Aug 2012 02:54:09 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/its-monday-and-robert-samuelson-is-confused-about-medicare-again#comment-18249 As one who was tangentially involved in the Part D debate when the legislation was being debated it was always clear that the cost of the program would decrease over time for the simple reason that most maintenance drugs needed by seniors were going off patent in a relative short period of time. I think this trend is going to continue to increase and the only thing that will change this trajectory is if new high cost oncology drugs or a reliable therapy for Alzheimer's are developed. I'm not sanguine here because the research is terribly difficult and only marginal improvements (if that) will be seen. - Alan Goldhammer Mon, 20 Aug 2012 01:28:27 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/its-monday-and-robert-samuelson-is-confused-about-medicare-again#comment-18247 [quote]It notes that in many cases the former are lower, however it does not attribute the savings to the more efficient delivery of care. It notes that lower costs may be due to healthier patients ...[/quote] Let's see, when does cost increase and when does it decrease? It could be when spending changes. It could be when price changes. It could be when a projected cost changes. It could be all of these. As for whom cost changes under what conditions, well that's even another question isn't it. But never fear if you're Robert Samuelson. Changes in cost are whatever you want them to be. Just pick one of the above and use it to demonstrate your predetermined conclusion that no matter how high health care costs are in the private sector they're even higher in the public sector. - Last Mover Mon, 20 Aug 2012 00:24:08 +0100