Pharmaceutical industry challenges Trump plan forcing companies to reveal drug prices in TV ads

Symbicort, an inhaler marketed to people whose lung disease makes them “huff and puff,” rolls off the manufacturing line at a price of $327 for a month’s supply. A familiar TV ad, in which a little girl compares her grandfather’s cough to the Big Bad Wolf from “The Three Little Pigs,” trumpets the drug’s benefits and advises about side effects but doesn’t mention the list price. That could change under the Trump administration’s proposed rules that would require companies to disclose the cost in legible print on any video ads. The pharmaceutical industry is fighting back, arguing that consumers should be able to find the price elsewhere and that few people end up paying the list price anyway.

In the case of Symbicort, some customers pay nothing under AstraZeneca’s “zero pay” program. Seniors on Medicare will shell out varying sums as they move through the year, depending on whether they have surpassed certain spending limits. Enrollees in suburban Maryland with a SilverScript Choice plan would pay $46 at a CVS pharmacy near the Beltway until they hit Medicare’s “doughnut hole” — when the have spent enough for their government subsidy to shrink and their out-of-pocket cost rises to $82, according to the Medicare Plan Finder portal. Seniors on the same plan in Seattle would pay $34 per month for Symbicort at a CVS near the Pike Place Fish Market for most of the year. Given those variables, disclosing list prices alone “would likely serve to confuse patients and potentially deter use of beneficial medicines that may be affordable once other factors, such as insurance coverage, are considered,” AstraZeneca said in a statement to The Washington Times.

The Trump administration says there’s still value in forcing companies to reveal list prices. People who have high-deductible plans can pay thousands of dollars in drug costs, at list price, before their insurance kicks in. Others pay a percentage of a drug’s cost, so the list price, while not their cost, is still indicative of what they will pay. “So [the list price] really matters, and as a result, we think disclosure of those list prices will create a downward pressure on the list prices of those drugs and impact Pharma behavior,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told Bloomberg Television. The goal is to give consumers an “anchor price,” the same way car manufacturers give a suggested retail price. While few pay the exact amount, it creates a way to compare deals and shop around. If patients suddenly stop requesting a drug that costs, say, $11,000 after the TV rule takes effect, it probably won’t cost that much for long, said a senior administration official who was outlining how the plan might work in the real world.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/24/trump-tv-rule-revealing-drug-prices-hit-pharmaceut/

Ginsburg Points Finger At Congress Over Contentious Judicial Confirmations

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticized Congress for politicizing the judicial confirmation process Wednesday night, urging a return to the bipartisan confirmations of decades past. Speaking at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the justice urged lawmakers to “reach across the aisle” and restore collegiality to a process riven with brinkmanship. “What a difference in time that was from what we are witnessing today,” she said in reference to her own glide-path confirmation, elsewhere adding that the “obvious culprit is Congress,” according to The Washington Post. The justice has made comments to this effect in other recent public appearances. Speaking on Sept. 12 at The George Washington University Law School, Ginsburg was similarly nostalgic in recalling her own confirmation. “The way it was was right,” she said. “The way it is is wrong.” “I wish I could wave a magic wand and have it go back to the way it was,” she added.

When discussing her confirmation process, Ginsburg often notes she commanded support from even from conservative Republicans like GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. She was confirmed 96-3. Other of her colleagues, like Justice Stephen Breyer and the late Justice Antonin Scalia, were confirmed to the Supreme Court by an overwhelming margin. In that vein, she praised her former colleague Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s collaborative, compromising approach to judicial decision-making. O’Connor, a moderate conservative, never embraced the interpretive theories of other Republican appointees on the Court, often preferring to resolve cases on narrow, pragmatic grounds.

O’Connor announced her withdrawal from public life Tuesday due to a dementia diagnosis. Her open letter to the American people was widely praised for its candor, and accompanying comments from the justices praised her commitment to “common sense” and “true wisdom.” Ginsburg did not reference the recent confirmation of her new colleague Justice Brett Kavanaugh, an intensely acrimonious process that ended with a suspenseful 50-48 vote.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2018/10/25/ginsburg-congress-judicial-confirmations/

Vice News Able To Purchase Ads On Facebook Listed As ‘Paid For’ By ISIS

Despite Facebook’s promises to crack down on hateful content and fake news, Vice News was able to purchase political advertisements that they claimed were “paid for” by ISIS.

Vice revealed the con in an article published Thursday, explaining that they submitted fake advertisements on behalf of several prominent politicians and the “Islamic State.” All of the ads were approved. “In May, Facebook added a mandatory ‘Paid For’ disclosure for every ad that relates to politics or what Facebook calls an ‘issue of national importance,'” Vice explained, noting that Facebook announced the measure in the wake of controversy over Russian-bought ads during the 2016 election.

Vice submitted an ad to Facebook several times with different persons in the “paid for” category. Facebook denied the ad when Vice claimed it was “paid for” by Hillary Clinton, but accepted it when Vice submitted it as “paid for” by Vice President Mike Pence, DNC Chair Tom Perez, and the Islamic State. “To be able to submit political ads on Facebook, we were required to submit a valid ID and proof of residence. That means Facebook knew who was behind the ads internally, but externally, Facebook users would see was completely made up Paid For information,” Vice said.

A representative for Facebook said that approving the ads was a mistake:

''Inaccurate disclaimers have no place on Facebook and these ads are no longer running. Our goal is to increase transparency on Facebook and prevent foreign interference elections which is why we have implemented the authorization process and released the Ad Archive. Enforcement isn’t perfect – and we won’t stop all people trying to game the system – but we have made it much harder and we will continue to improve.''

>>3602457

Sauce:

https://www.dailycaller.com/2018/10/25/vice-news-facebook-isis-ads/

Newt Gingrich Says The Media Has ‘Earned’ ‘Enemy Of The People’ Label

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich defended President Donald Trump’s attacks on the media Thursday during an Axios event in Washington, D.C.

While Gingrich did say that Trump’s harsh rhetoric towards the press hasn’t helped heal the country’s growing political divide, he did say that he believes the press has “earned” its “enemy of the people” label. The remarks came during a broader discussion on tensions following Wednesday’s multiple bomb threats directed towards Democratic officials and CNN. Gingrich said the current political climate is “everyone’s fault” and cited social media and the “tribalization” of cable news.

Trump first used the “enemy of the people” term in July in a tweet, which led to harsh criticism from journalists. “Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!,” the president wrote.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2018/10/25/newt-gingrich-media-enemy-of-the-people/

>>3602494

I agree with what you are saying here, it's like they get high off of the RD money…when it's done they exploit it further with the actions you just stated…All paid for by the American public, while other countries are afforded what they need at much less expensive rates…the screws are always being turned a little tighter for the US citizens, which shouldn't be.

Ex-Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos meets with House panels in private

George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation, made his first appearance Thursday before congressional investigators. Papadopoulos, who was sentenced in September to two weeks in prison as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, was meeting in closed session with two GOP-led House committees. It is one of several interviews the GOP-led House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform panels are conducting as part of their investigation into partisan bias at the Justice Department. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries during the 2016 campaign. Since he was sentenced, he has been eager to talk publicly. He has spent many nights on Twitter, along with his wife, venting anger with the FBI and implying that he was set up in the investigation. He has said that he would like to talk to Congress about his "suspicious encounters" with an Australian diplomat and a professor who were links to his case. His lawyer sent a letter to the committees this week in which he listed nine people related to his case that he wants to discuss in the interview, including both of those men.

The lawyer, Caroline Polisi, told the committees that Papadopoulos would prefer to testify out in the open. "As you know, in the spirit of full transparency, Mr. Papadopoulos had requested that his interview be public," Polisi wrote in an Oct. 22 letter obtained by The Associated Press. "We understand that is not an option at this time, but would welcome the opportunity to do so at a later date."

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-george-papadopoulos-house-meeting-20181025-story,amp.html

>>3602646

In favor of a leaner sentence no doubt.