Pessimism v. Optimism

[kandrathe]

You're correcting a mistake I didn't make. My link said 16.5%, right in line with yours. Variance is one thing, but that's still a very profitable industry. If that was just legitimate profits, I would have no problem with it. But much of it is rents, accumulated from the bizarre US system, which generates major incentives to over-prescribe, and almost no ability for bargaining at the provider level.

For pharmaceutical companies, money could be saved by reducing their rents. For HMOs, money could be saved by simply eliminating that entire step in the process.

-Jester

Another solution would be to amend the law to create a 4th type of patent. Drugs for human treatment could be protected for a shorter period of time, but that time period starts after FDA final approval for sale to the public begins. I fear the result would be fewer inventions, however.