From Karl Denninger, an article titled Enough of this Nonsense:
I’m talking about the basic economic question: Supply, demand and what happens when you allow someone to force another person to pay your bill.
I keep hammering on this and will until people stop running tropes whether out of sincere (but false) belief or some other reason.
Let’s take Eliquis. Its a common medication and its expensive. Roughly 3.5 million Americans take this drug and it is one of the most-commonly prescribed for people who have atrial fibrillation. It appears to be reasonably effective in reducing the risk of strokes and heart attacks in people with that condition.
It is also about $8,000 a year in the United States without insurance and “insurance” forces those who do not have that condition to pay for those who do — including Medicare and Medicaid.
###
The common claim is that “if you cut that off those people will die” because they can’t possibly afford the price.
The claim is false.
In Germany the drug costs about $700 a year, so it is ten times as expensive in the United States.
Parker here. I know why Eliquis (apixaban) so much more expensive in the U.S. I wrote all about it in my latest book. Read Denninger for his opinion. (He’s smarter than me but was wrong about his predicted 2024 severe economic contraction. Making predictions is hard, especially when it’s about the future.)
Steve Parker, M.D.
Paleo Diabetic 