# Bernie Sanders blocking Biden health nominees **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 13, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399 "2023-06-13T02:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/21 "2023-06-14T03:16:06Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > We’re getting off topic of whether Sanders should use this method to get his way. So, back to the OP, I disagree with Sanders’ methods here, and I agree with other posters that it gives cover to Republicans who play these games all the time. ⁢ And I agree with the argument that Republicans don’t need cover for their actions. And I see a fundamental difference between following the will of the people and holding people to their promises versus ignoring the will of the people and trying to prevent those promises. And I especially see a difference from the guy who is actively sabotaging the US military to try and get them to undo a policy he doesn’t like. And he sure doesn’t think he needs any cover. He’s a Republican attacking the military, FFS. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/22 "2023-06-14T03:36:57Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > You know that prescription drugs are not covered by the gov’t in Canada? My wife’s Humira costs $1500/shot, which she takes twice per month 2 Humira pens, in the US, will run you nearly seven _thousand_ dollars. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/23 "2023-06-14T03:41:12Z")
I thought the left was all about helping the poor Canadians and redistributing wealth to Canadians? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/24 "2023-06-14T04:12:43Z")
You know, if i learned that high US drug prices subsidized cheaper drugs in Zambia, I’d be okay with that. But i don’t see why it’s a good thing that sick people in the US are subsidizing sick people in Canada, the UK, Japan, and other comparably wealthy nations. And we are, to a massive extent. Also, i work for the insurance industry, and every several years i see charts of probability by industry. We’re always at the bottom. And the pharmaceutical industry is always at the top. They’ve invested heavily in buying US congressmen, and it’s paid off handsomely for them. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/25 "2023-06-14T04:27:09Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > You know, if i learned that high US drug prices subsidized cheaper drugs in Zambia, I’d be okay with that. But i don’t see why it’s a good thing that sick people in the US are subsidizing sick people in Canada, the UK, Japan, and other comparably wealthy nations. Americans often don’t realize just how wealthy they are compared to the rest of the world. Japan’s GDP per capita is less than half that of America. American GDP per capita is 80,034. Canada is $52,722. The UK, $46,341. Japan, $35,385. Progressive pricing should see Americans pay the most for medicine by a substantial amount, then Canada, the UK and Japan in order. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/26 "2023-06-14T04:38:22Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > American GDP per capita is 80,034. What’s that in take home pay? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/27 "2023-06-14T05:05:02Z")
\<\< Deleted by poster \>\> ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/28 "2023-06-14T10:05:49Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I thought the left was all about helping the poor and redistributing wealth? And yet here they want to lower the prices of drugs for rich Americans, and if that means the poor in other countries have to go without, oh well. Canada is more left wing than the US. It has about 1/9 the population, and Canadian insurance companies are allowed to negotiate with pharma companies. Given they are more left wing, I imagine Canadians are even MORE about helping the poor and distributing wealth, so they should want to pay 9 times what the companies are asking for, in order to put them on a par with the US. Remember, it’s not a subsidy, it’s price discrimination! It’s only logic! Allowing price negotiation is not banning price discrimination. Your Lexus/Toyota analogy totally fails, because they pharma companies are selling the same product, but one buyer is allowed to negotiate and one isn’t. I’ve said nothing about drug reimportation, I’ve only talked about giving Medicare the ability to negotiate prices. Your answers sort of side-swipe a response to my post, and then add a few paragraphs of what looks like text supplied by a right-wing chatbot. You’re clearly wrong about what “the left” wants, since Bernie Sanders disagrees with you and he’s very lefty. And, you’re hijacking this thread with strawmen about what the left wants, rather than addressing the question about whether Sanders is doing this the right way. Go ahead and get the last word in, this is too exhausting for me. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/29 "2023-06-14T10:43:52Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > And, you’re hijacking this thread Sorry, this looks like junior modding. It’s not my place to make this call. I don’t have much more to add to this thread, so I’ll restate my position and flounce. I agree with Sanders that the US should be allowed to negotiate with pharma companies for drugs that they purchase. I don’t know enough about reimportation or his other goals to have an intelligent debate about it. I suppose allowing reimportation would give the US a stronger bargaining position, if nothing else, but that’s all I’ll say on a subject I don’t know much about. > [@BigT](#): > > And I agree with the argument that Republicans don’t need cover for their actions. This is true, of course, but I still don’t think a single senator should be able to gum up the executive branch works. I agree that what he’s doing (holding back an appointment of an NIH director or whatever) is not as bad as holding back all promotions or threatening the US credit rating, but I still disagree with this method of getting his way. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/30 "2023-06-14T12:44:57Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Americans often don’t realize just how wealthy they are compared to the rest of the world. Japan’s GDP per capita is less than half that of America. American GDP per capita is 80,034. Canada is $52,722. The UK, $46,341. Japan, $35,385. Average GDP is totally irrelevant to this discussion. What’s median income? Well, okay, it’s actually very hard to find numbers on the same basis from country to country. Here are some stats i could dig up: US median income per person [$31,133 in 2019](https://datacommons.org/place/country/USA/?utm_medium=explore&mprop=income&popt=Person&cpv=age,Years15Onwards&hl=en), or [household income of $70,784 (2021)](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-276.html) Canada [$68,400 (2021)](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230502/dq230502a-eng.htm) (median household income) UK [£32,300 (household 2022)](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/householddisposableincomeandinequality/financialyearending2022#:~:text=Main%20points,(ONS)%20Household%20Finances%20Survey.) (about $41K) Japan [$45,601 (household, 2021)](https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/macroeconomic/median-household-income-in-japan/#:~:text=Japan's%20median%20household%20income%20(PPP,1.3%25%20over%20the%20previous%20year.)) It doesn’t really matter that Bill Gates can buy a lot of insulin without noticing the cash expenditure. These numbers don’t scream to me that it’s reasonable for US patients to pay 2 or 100 times what Canadians do. (The two is rounded from the cost of humira, above. The one hundred is how much my mom’s steroid medication cost increased when the drug was approved in the US and she had to buy it in the US, when she’d been previously buying it from a Canadian pharmacy.) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/31 "2023-06-15T01:40:34Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Well, okay, it’s actually very hard to find numbers on the same basis from country to country. OECD is usually where I start for statistics like this. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/32 "2023-06-15T02:02:51Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The problem with that ‘negotiation’ is that the federal government is a monopoly, and the drug companies don’t have much choice. So they can’t do it, and if they did it, they would be too good at it, so they shouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399/33 "2023-06-15T02:02:56Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I agree with Sanders that the US should be allowed to negotiate with pharma companies for drugs that they purchase. It is my understanding that Senator Sanders is not talking about the U.S. purchasing drugs or renegotiating drug pricing at all. This is not Medicare negotiating prices for part D. Rather, he wants the National Institute of Health to start adding strings to future biomedical research collaborations, specifically exclusive licenses of federally-owned (or co-developed) patents to private corporations. The proposed policy was in effect during part of the '90s, but it was revoked, ostensibly because it clashed with NIH’s primary research mission and its statutory mission “to transfer promising technologies to the private sector for commercialization”. The NIH [said at the time](https://www.techtransfer.nih.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdfs/NIH-Notice%EF%BF%BERescinding-Reasonable-Pricing-Clause.pdf) that putting a reasonable pricing clause in its license agreements scared away private partnerships. ~Max [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-blocking-biden-health-nominees/985399.md?page=1)