Why You Can't Afford Health Care [1]
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton [2] on
The U.S. pharmaceutical industry, in close collaboration with Republicans [3], has been working for years to jack up the price of prescription drugs [4], as Americans find themselves paying more for less health care [5] -- and there's no end in sight, with insurance executives predicting premium increases of 15 to 25 percent annually [6]. Currently drug companies are waging what the Associated Press describes as "a successful lobbying and public relations battle" [7] to fight legislation that would enable cheaper, generic drugs to enter the marketplace [8]. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the drug makers' lobby group, has been fighting the proposed legislation by trotting out celebrity spokespersons and running deceptive advertisements that show a sick child with the headline, "Pray for a Miracle, Because Generic Drugs Will Never Cure Him." (And if he can't afford non-generics, that means he'll just die, right?)