California’s Insane Plan to Lower Drug Costs

Andy Snyder|January 20, 2020

It’s like pornography… We know it when we see it.

That’s how we recently opened a discussion about Liberty and its innate ties to wealth.

When most folks think of self-sufficiency, they think of the shows that are all the rage on TV these days. They think of a half-crazed man running a trapline during the day and canning a jar of venison by lantern light at night.

What they don’t think about is what the TV shows don’t portray – the fact that the poor old bearded guy is just one bureaucrat away from getting booted from public land and tossed into a homeless shelter.

He’s self-sufficient only because the government took pity on him.

That’s not Liberty.

You’ll know it when you see it. But it’s a rare sighting these days.

The Latest Threat

Most folks never bother to think about Liberty and its ties to our health. But they should.

Being self-sufficient isn’t just about money or food… It’s also about our health.

That’s why we beg readers to forget about Iran or China for a minute.

When it comes to taking our freedom, the greatest enemy is within.

Our modern healthcare system is the greatest threat to Liberty this nation has seen since the muskets started firing in 1775.

If you ever needed convincing that health and Liberty are connected… this is the essay that will push you beyond the brink and make you a believer.

And this is the fact that will turn a snowflake into an avalanche…

Right now, 40 million people live in California. One out of 3 of them use the state’s Medicaid program.

That’s worth repeating… One-third of the entire state now relies on a health safety net that was designed solely to protect the poorest of the poor.

And the state has new plans to make things even worse.

Making Cheap Even Cheaper

California’s governor – Gavin Newsom – has announced his vision for getting into the generic drugmaking industry.

That’s right… because he believes government is better than the private sector, Newsom wants to team up with drugmakers to produce California’s very own generic drugs.

Neighboring states had better lock down their borders.

The great exodus is about to roar. Anybody with the means to get out… will. It will leave behind a state populated by the poor, the sick… and the bureaucrats eager to rule them.

Newsom’s plan is bold and dumb.

It will surely get votes.

“Prescription drug prices are too high,” he said, wisely starting his argument with an undeniable truth.

But it goes downhill from there…

“I’m proposing that California become the first state in the nation to establish its own generic drug label. It’s time to take the power out of the hands of greedy pharmaceutical companies.”

It’s classic political rhetoric – verbal judo, if you will.

Voters hear the first and last lines and nod their heads… never bothering to check the math on the important stuff in the middle.

Somehow, the governor begs us to assume, the government can make drugs cheaper than the free market.

We’ll take some time here to remind you of the sorts of cost-saving measures many big-name drugmakers have already tried.

They’ve outsourced to China… which has led to hundreds of deaths. They’ve moved their plants to India… where the FDA has a hard time making an unannounced visit.

They’ve cut quality on ingredients.

And they even got busted lying to the government.

But the FDA hasn’t been much of a foe in this battle. In fact, it’s been quite friendly.

Drugmakers have long griped about the expense and time it takes to get a generic drug to market. That’s why the FDA conceded and lowered its barriers… cutting inspections by double-digit proportions.

Outside of child labor and cutting pills with gasoline… we’re not sure what Newsom can do that’s not already been done.

Bad Business

In fact, we’d bet that most drugmakers would be happy to offload their generic businesses to the state. They’re hardly profitable these days.

The most common generic drugs have seen their prices fall by more than 37% over the past four years. Meanwhile, their branded brethren have seen prices surge by more than 60%.

How California will lower costs further is quite a mystery.

But the end result is not.

To use a bit of a Hollywood cliché, it’s a clear and present danger.

California’s politicians aren’t looking to lower healthcare costs for the state’s citizens. They have reams of regulations that they could shred that would get that job done.

No. The state’s aim is to get even more of its citizens addicted to the government’s filthy teat. It’s got a third of all citizens already sucking. Now it’s going for the whole herd.

It’s the ultimate threat to Liberty.

Once a person latches on… they rarely let go.

Liberty and the self-reliance it brings with it will be lost.

And believe us… you’ll know it when you see it.

It’s ugly.