Corruption. It's A Dirty Word.

....and with good reason. Ever wonder why there are so many poor bastards who'll risk their life to try and get across the southern border of the United States from Mexico, a country with abundant natural resources, a climate custom made for tourism, and people with a work ethic unmatched on the planet? The "c" word has a lot to do with it. A few people in power who use that power to take care of the well connected at the expense of everyone else will rob a nation of it's true wealth far more effectively than an army of street-level criminals.

"Uh, OK drugnazi" some of you might be saying. "What's this got to do with me? Government corruption is what happens somewhere else, usually in places with people who's skin color is darker than mine." Not so fast there gringo. From today's New York Times we have this:

The pharmaceutical industry is beginning to reap a windfall from a surprisingly lucrative niche market: drugs for poor people.

The windfall, which by some estimates could be $2 billion or more this year, is a result of the transfer of millions of low-income people into the new Medicare Part D drug program that went into effect in January. Under that program, as it turns out, the prices paid by insurers, and eventually the taxpayer, for the medications given to those transferred are likely to be higher than what was paid under the federal-state Medicaid programs for the poor.

It's a little tough for your average schlep to follow, so I'll translate what's happened into English for you.

Back in the day, a person who was eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare had their drug bill taken care of by Medicaid, a program jointly run by individual states and the federal government. That was because there was no drug coverage under Medicare. Along comes the Medicare Part D plan in January, and now these same people's drug bills are the responsibility of Medicare and the federal government alone. Sounds simple enough.

Thing is, Medicaid programs by law have a "best price" provision. Meaning that drug companies automatically have to give states that purchase drugs for Medicaid the lowest price offered to other big insurers. Whoo hoo! everyone loves a bargain!

Except for the federal government that is. Not only is there no "best price" provision in Medicare Part D, the law SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITS the federal government from negotiating prices. You read that right. As the Times puts it:

Initially, the added costs will be paid by the insurers administering the new Medicare drug program. But when it comes time for the insurers to settle accounts with the government, the costs of the 6.5 million drugs for the transferees will end up being passed along to federal taxpayers

I don't think I have to explain what "costs passed along to federal taxpayers" means. Don't worry though, you're not the only one getting screwed. The people in the program now have to pay a co-pay for their meds, which were completely covered when they were the responsibility of Medicaid.

So to sum up, here are the net effects of your government in action:

1) Same drugs

2) Same people getting drugs

3) Taxpayers paying more for same people getting same drugs

4) Same people paying more for getting same drugs.

5) Pharmaceutical companies netting an estimated extra $2 billion for selling same drugs to same people.

I hope that those of you who've stuck with me so far are saying to yourselves, WHAT THE FUCK?? HOW IN GOD'S GREEN EARTH DOES SUCH AN INCREDIBLY INSANE IDEA BECOME LAW!!!??

Well, it's just a theory, but I think Dave Larson and Quin Dodd might have something to do with it. Mr. Larson was a health policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Bill First, the chief sponsor of the Medicare bill. Mr. Dodd is a former legislative director to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the fourth ranking Republican in the Senate. They now work for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactures of America, lobbying for them in the, um, Senate, among other places. Not to put all the blame on these two. A third of all lobbyists employed by the industry are former federal government employees, including more than 15 former Senators and more than 60 former members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

A few people in power who use that power to take care of the well connected at the expense of everyone else. Sound familiar? I hope so, because you read those very words probably not more than 5 minutes ago. Larson, Dodd, and their ilk are robbing this country of it's true wealth just as surely as any corrupt dictator of the third world. Please do something to stop them before we become the poor bastards desperate to cross the northern border.

You can read the Times story here.

You can read more about the relationship between Big Pharma and what is supposed to be your government here and here.