Big Pharma

Money fuels everything in the world we live in. It puts a roof over our heads, it puts food on our tables, and it seems to be the main motivator for pretty much any profession. Money can do some great things, it can keep charities running, it can find cures for diseases, and it can bring endangered species back from the brink of the abyss, among many other things. But there are some instances where the role of money isn't necessarily a good thing, particularly the power it has. I believe the pharmaceutical industry is a perfect example of this. There is something seriously wrong when an unexpected medical expense has the power to devastate an individual or a family financially. Something that one cannot control shouldn't be the reason they find themselves unable to scrape rent together or afford groceries, but that is precisely the case for far too many people. I know that I for one would be in a pretty tight spot if, for instance, I found out that I was diabetic. Thankfully this isn't the case, but many others aren't so fortunate. As someone who has relied on medication for various ailments throughout my life, I know first hand how expensive they can be, and without insurance, forget about it. This is a serious problem, but to say that it could be mended easily would be misleading. While there are many who would like to see things change and are doing what they can to bring that change about, there are also many more who benefit from the current state of affairs and aren't too keen on altering the set up in any fashion. No matter what you call many of those entities and individuals, whether it be repugnant, morally bankrupt, cold, or uncaring, it wont make a difference. That is unfortunately the power of money. When anything has the ability to bring about indifference towards the sight of suffering, there is a problem. When we have a system that requires people to sneak around and bend(or often break) the rules in order to help someone, there is a problem. When anyone is going broke just to be able to get medication that they need to stay alive, then there is a very serious problem. Prices of many pills are insane, especially when compared to the same exact medication elsewhere, which begs the question of what makes our situation different? From what I can tell, it's that the US has a much more permissive climate when it comes to business, allowing for corporations to essentially set the terms of how the industry functions and effectively name their price. A significant example came up a little while ago in the instance of "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli, the founder and former CEO of Turin Pharmaceuticals. There was widescale outrage at the news of him ramping up the prices of medication(from $13.50 to $750 per Daraprim pill), and committing multiple acts of securities fraud. While he did face consequences, many, including myself, believe he got off far too light with a measly sentence of seven years and 7.4 million in fines. The smug look he could often be seen sporting definitely didn't help the image that was painted of him as an indifferent selfish prick, but above all, he somewhat became the face of the seriously flawed pharmaceutical industry that we have right now. In the effort to maintain fairness, I will say that of course not every corporation partakes in such outrageous practices, not every CEO is a heartless opportunist, and often times they do a lot of good, but from what I can see, such instances are common enough that they desperately need to be addressed. This is a common trend with many problems in the world. A decent comparison could be made to the "Me Too" movement, where a lot of detractors respond "not all men" to which many would reply "yes, not all, but enough of them", which would also be my stance. So too is the case similar with the pharmaceutical industry. When it comes to the freedom of industry, I've always been of the mind that people and groups should be allowed to run their businesses in the manner in which they see fit, but when your company grows into a major entity that supplies services to a vast population, I believe at that point you have a responsibility to your customers, and the pharmaceutical industry seriously fails many of the people they're supposed to be helping. Not only that, there's also the issue of companies pushing their pills to doctors, often even if there are serious or even fatal drawbacks. Again, trying to look at all the sides here, I should say that I'm well aware that the circumstances aren't exactly ideal for doctors either at the moment (or ever in the past to the best of my knowledge). With their extensive schedules and massive responsibility, I don't find it unfathomable that there are cases where they aren't able to predict every single possible outcome of every particular medication that is presented to them, and I have no doubt in my mind that the overwhelming majority of them do abide by the oath they took; "primum non nocere" or "first do no harm", but at the end of the day they are still flawed human beings who can and will display poor judgement. In the current climate, many companies prey on not only patients, but the physicians who administer their product, adding another thing for medical practitioners to add to their list of concerns. I won't apologize anymore about being a broken record about a case by case approach because this is yet another instance where it applies perfectly. The most sickening aspect of the issue is when remedies are found out to have addictive properties, and the producer responds by ramping up production more than ever. When an entity is COUNTING on people to get addicted to whatever it is that they're pushing, that's unforgivable. The most striking example of this would be Oxycontin of course, but there are many more to be seen and you don't have to look very hard to find them. The pharmaceutical industry is absolutely guilty in regards to the current opioid epidemic, and the fact that so many who are complicit or simply down right responsible have been able to pay their way out of their consequences is a bastardization of justice that is utterly irredeemable. The whole point I'm trying to illustrate here is that when profits come before the wellbeing of those who are supposed to be serviced, change needs to be made. I'm not certain of exactly what type of legislation needs to be passed, since it seems that much of what has been attempted in the past has allowed companies to simply pay their way out of consequences, which begs the question of what else can be done? I certainly hope someone can come up with a solution, because as someone who is chipping away at medical debt of his own, I'm all ears.