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    Santorum Doles Out Tough Medicine on Drug Costs

    By Megan Kelty | National Journal – Wed, Feb 1, 2012

    WOODLAND PARK, Colo. – As Rick Santorum sought on Wednesday to spread his message on health care to Coloradans, he gave an answer to a question from the audience that some may find a hard pill to swallow.

    A young boy asked the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania what he would do to keep prescription drugs affordable. Another woman in the audience chimed in that she couldn't afford her $900-a-month prescription.

    Santorum compared the costs to buying an iPad. "People have no problem going out and buying an iPad for $900,” he said. “But paying $200 for a drug they have a problem with -- that keeps you alive. Why? Because you've been conditioned in thinking health care is something you should get and not have to pay for."

    The mother of the young boy persisted, yelling out that she could barely afford to keep her son breathing. But Santorum didn't sugar-coat his answer.

    "Look, I want your son and everybody to have the opportunity to stay alive on much-needed drugs,” he said. “But the bottom line is, we have to give companies the incentive to make those drugs. And if they don't have the incentive to make those drugs, your son won't be alive and lots of other people in this country won't be alive."

    Santorum went on to tell the crowd – made up largely of tea party supporters who applauded him – that people either believe in free markets or they don't.

    Health care is set to be a major issue in the general election and Santorum is pushing the message that he is the only candidate who offers a clear contrast to President Obama. He boasted he was the author of the first health care savings-account bill and slammed rival Newt Gingrich for taking credit for the reform.

    "He was speaker of the House,” Santorum said. “That's like the CEO of an auto company claiming he built the car."

     

     

    11 comments

    • TokyoRD
      TokyoRD  •  3 mths ago
      Hmmm, there is one big problem with Santorum's position. The drug companies sell the same exact drugs in other countries, including Canada, Mexico, Japan, at a fraction of the cost that they sell for in the US. The drug companies have paid politicians like Santorum to pass laws making it illegal to buy their drugs in a foreign country and bring it back to the US so that they can protect the ultra-high profits that they make in the US. This is not about supply and demand - this is about using lobbyists and paying politicians to soak Americans while letting the rest of the world get the same products at a lower cost. Santorum is in the pockets of big pharma. When Santorum was defeated for a third term in 2006, an internal memo at the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline said his departure from Washington “creates a big hole that we need to fill."
      • Bea
        Bea 3 mths ago
        This is so informative- thank you, TokyoRD
    • john a
      john a  •  Coldwater, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      how much did he get paid from drug co????
    • Mike
      Mike  •  Anchorage, Alaska  •  3 mths ago
      If the "free market" is the excuse for letting needy people die, maybe it shouldn't be "free".
    • Chris
      Chris  •  3 mths ago
      Incentive? What, HUGE profits?
    • Mr fish
      Mr fish  •  Detroit, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      Why thats Insanetorum,,
    • J Mb
      J Mb  •  3 mths ago
      Nice speech. But the analogy sucks. Affording your prescription is not the same as buying an ipad. Since when do poor people have ipads? I work in the worst part of detroit. Nobody has an ipad. I don't have an ipad. Most of the people I work with don't even have a cell phone.

      Yes, drug companies should make money. What I don't understand, is what Rick Santorum, who enjoys health care and prescriptions funded by our tax dollars being so crass about it. Why is it not socialism for our tax dollars to give this stuff to a very small portion of the country, i.e. Congressmen, but not the rest of us? Rick, nobody is asking for a law to make a drug cost less, they're asking why the hell do I keep giving you money so you can get all the healthcare you want for free for your family, when I can't do the same for mine?
    • Michael
      Michael  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 mths ago
      There is no such thing as a "free market."
    • A Yahoo! User  •  3 mths ago
      No problem for Ricky, he made his millions insider trading on drug company stocks! He can afford drugs, why can't you?
    • TokyoRD
      TokyoRD  •  3 mths ago
      Santorum is out of touch with the financial reality of this country. The people who can't afford prescription drugs and health care in America aren't spending $900 on iPads. They are trying to make ends meet.
      • me and hunnybunny
        me and hunnybunny 3 mths ago
        I take care of middle class as well as low income patients. No one wants to pay for their expensive medications or their hospital bills, yet they all have the latest and greatest cell phones, TV's, late model cars, brand name shoes, and designer label clothing.
    • Honey
      Honey  •  3 mths ago
      TokyoRD made this post and it is so informative and correct, that I feel it is worth posting again....

      Hmmm, there is one big problem with Santorum's position. The drug companies sell the same exact drugs in other countries, including Canada, Mexico, Japan, at a fraction of the cost that they sell for in the US. The drug companies have paid politicians like Santorum to pass laws making it illegal to buy their drugs in a foreign country and bring it back to the US so that they can protect the ultra-high profits that they make in the US. This is not about supply and demand - this is about using lobbyists and paying politicians to soak Americans while letting the rest of the world get the same products at a lower cost. Santorum is in the pockets of big pharma. When Santorum was defeated for a third term in 2006, an internal memo at the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline said his departure from Washington “creates a big hole that we need to fill."
    • me and hunnybunny
      me and hunnybunny  •  3 mths ago
      Actually, for the most part he is right and it pains me to say I partially agree with him. I take care of middle class as well as low income patients. No one wants to pay for their expensive medications or their hospital bills, yet they all have the latest and greatest cell phones, TV's, late model cars, brand name shoes, and designer label clothing. I feel like healthcare should be available to all, but people expect it to be free. You have to be willing to help share the costs.
     Post a comment
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