Group I: Question A
PhRMA’s involvement in the health care reforms led by President Obama was a corruption of our democratic principles. “For years now, drug makers have been operating on the dark side, financially incentivizing doctors and health care providers to promote their drugs, and compensating pharmaceutical sales reps based on the number of prescriptions written by the doctors they call on” (Archer 2013). The Huffington Post cites how “Big Pharma has been systematically price-gouging the Medicare program for seniors and people with disabilities -- and raking in billions in excessive profits. The 11 largest global drug companies made an astonishing $711 billion in profits over the 10 years ending in 2012, and they got a turbo-charged …show more content…
To accomplish this, all stakeholders must have a proportionate role at the table.
Stakeholders who have the most to profit from certain policies, like purchasers, pharmaceutical companies, bio-medical companies, and device and diagnostic companies. While they deserve to be at the table, they do not get to own the table like they did in the ACA. All stakeholders can play a role, but certain stakeholders need to be prioritized. Patients should sit at the top of that list. Patients over profit.
Effective policy and advocacy go hand-in-hand. No policy is effective without a broad range of multiple supporters. The same can be said for advocacy: issues cannot move without a trailblazer to champion it. Too often policies fail to become law because it favors those with affluent means and ultimately benefits the very few. The US has been a hotbed of corruption, particularly in the beltway. Unfortunately, I remain skeptical that those with a lot of money will allow health care policies that will benefit everyone because of their own short-sighted views of who should and shouldn’t receive quality …show more content…
out of last place for quality of health care provided to patients. However there are U.S. health care systems, hospitals, and community health clinics that are working on improving the quality of care that is being delivered to patients. In The Commonwealth Fund’s Scorecard on State Health System Performance, 2014, assesses states on 42 indicators of health care access, quality, costs, and outcomes over the 2007–2012 period, which includes the Great Recession and precedes the major coverage expansions of the Affordable Care Act (The Commonwealth Fund 2014). The findings from the scorecard point out mixed performance overall, but based on overall patient and physician reports along with the passage of the ACA, the US is making considerable progress in deliver, coordination, and equity in the health care system overall. While incremental progress continues, many of our nation’s most vulnerable continue to suffer from poor health outcomes that disproportionately impact communities, such as immigrant and refugee communities—old and young. Until this is addressed, the United States will continue to pay the most to be ranked last in quality of
PhRMA’s involvement in the health care reforms led by President Obama was a corruption of our democratic principles. “For years now, drug makers have been operating on the dark side, financially incentivizing doctors and health care providers to promote their drugs, and compensating pharmaceutical sales reps based on the number of prescriptions written by the doctors they call on” (Archer 2013). The Huffington Post cites how “Big Pharma has been systematically price-gouging the Medicare program for seniors and people with disabilities -- and raking in billions in excessive profits. The 11 largest global drug companies made an astonishing $711 billion in profits over the 10 years ending in 2012, and they got a turbo-charged …show more content…
To accomplish this, all stakeholders must have a proportionate role at the table.
Stakeholders who have the most to profit from certain policies, like purchasers, pharmaceutical companies, bio-medical companies, and device and diagnostic companies. While they deserve to be at the table, they do not get to own the table like they did in the ACA. All stakeholders can play a role, but certain stakeholders need to be prioritized. Patients should sit at the top of that list. Patients over profit.
Effective policy and advocacy go hand-in-hand. No policy is effective without a broad range of multiple supporters. The same can be said for advocacy: issues cannot move without a trailblazer to champion it. Too often policies fail to become law because it favors those with affluent means and ultimately benefits the very few. The US has been a hotbed of corruption, particularly in the beltway. Unfortunately, I remain skeptical that those with a lot of money will allow health care policies that will benefit everyone because of their own short-sighted views of who should and shouldn’t receive quality …show more content…
out of last place for quality of health care provided to patients. However there are U.S. health care systems, hospitals, and community health clinics that are working on improving the quality of care that is being delivered to patients. In The Commonwealth Fund’s Scorecard on State Health System Performance, 2014, assesses states on 42 indicators of health care access, quality, costs, and outcomes over the 2007–2012 period, which includes the Great Recession and precedes the major coverage expansions of the Affordable Care Act (The Commonwealth Fund 2014). The findings from the scorecard point out mixed performance overall, but based on overall patient and physician reports along with the passage of the ACA, the US is making considerable progress in deliver, coordination, and equity in the health care system overall. While incremental progress continues, many of our nation’s most vulnerable continue to suffer from poor health outcomes that disproportionately impact communities, such as immigrant and refugee communities—old and young. Until this is addressed, the United States will continue to pay the most to be ranked last in quality of