The #Biden admin on Wed announced cost savings on 64 additional #drugs under a new #Medicare program.
Under the 2022 #InflationReductionAct, drug companies that raise prices of certain meds faster than the rate of #inflation are required to pay a rebate to Medicare. Federal ofcls then perform adjustments to lower the cost of the #MedicarePartB drugs that qualify.
Biden ofcls say that >750k people covered by Medicare use the 64 drugs; the drugs treat conditions such as #cancer & #osteoporosis.
"Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) was the White House physician known for running a pill mill out of his office, doling out amphetamines like Adderall and Provigil. So it’s entirely predictable, using our 'every accusation is a confession' rule, that Jackson would be the principal source of a baseless accusation against Biden."
"There is also a layer of irony (and perhaps projection) for Jackson when it comes to alleging drug abuse. A 2021 inspector general report found him to have engaged in serious misconduct, including unethical medical conduct, during his years as White House physician under Presidents Obama and Trump."
"Jackson often consumed alcohol with prescription sleeping medication while on the job, overprescribed medications,1 and made drunken advances on female subordinates. The allegations torpedoed Jackson’s 2018 nomination to serve as secretary of Veterans Affairs—he withdrew from consideration after lawmakers started investigating the claims that were later documented in the report—and resulted in Jackson’s demotion by the U.S. Navy from rear admiral to captain."
A recent study that measured 61 different drugs from 104 countries from rivers in 1,052 locations found 43.5% of the sites had traces of at least one drug that were above safe levels for ecological health.
@GottaLaff This sort of thing is exactly what fuels pharmaceutical conspiracy theories, for example those surrounding vaccinations. Many people already view "big pharma" as just a bunch of money grubbing thieves that try to extract as much profit as they can from people's miseries. And we know that their representatives try to induce doctors to prescribe even arguably dangerous medications (Qxycontin being the poster child for their bad behavior). And we know that the goivernment is often at least partially complicit; in part because of yielding to intense lobbying by the pharma industry. So it is not a real huge leap for people to believe that they are lying when they say vaccines are safe and effective. Unfortunately, that's a case where past evidence shows they are being truthful, but they have shot much of their credibility because of their past bad actions.
And, this is another one of those things that only seems to be a major issue in the USA (and maybe Canada). I would bet that relatively few pharmacists in countries south of the border throw away pills that are a just few weeks or months past their expiration date. So the irony is that the US government regulates the pharmacists more tightly than they do the big drug companies that make the stuff. And that's what makes people like me feel very comfortabe finishing off the last of a 15 year old bottle of Tylenol or Ibuprofen before I will go buy a new one.
It's hard to explain exactly how I feel about it because I get a Covid and flu vaccine regularly and trust that those are indeed safe and effective, even though every single time I have had a Covid vaccination I have felt like I had the flu for a short time in the middle of the night. And I take time-tested generic prescription medications to control high blood pressure and high cholestrol (as long as it's not a statin). But yet I have told my doctor that I absolutely under no circunstances whatsoever will ever take any drug that is advertised on television. If that means I will die earlier than I otherwise would, so be it, I'm not trying to win the longevity olympics here, and I really do hate big pharma that much that I would rather die sooner than see those soulless money grubbers unjustly enriched by my sickness or medical condition. I wish no one had to take prescription medications, and therefore I sort of understand (a little bit) why some people would prefer to drink bleach or take an animal dewormer rather than get an effective vaccination. I think they're nuts (talk about the cure being worse than the disease!), but I can also kinda see how they might have arrived at those beliefs. The pharmaceutical industry has never come across as caring about their customers more than they care about money.
Today in Labor History Today in Labor History April 15, 1943: Albert Hoffman, inventor of LSD, tested his first dose and went for a bike ride. This day is now celebrated as Bicycle Day. “... Little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux ...” And from that date forward, working class people could finally afford to go on a trip.
Sandoz originally marketed the drug as Delysid and sold it in 100 microgram doses. From the late 1940s, through the early 1960s, the drug was legal and numerous psychologists and researchers began experimenting with it as a form of therapy. Many were willing participants in the CIA’s UKUltra mind control experiments, in which LSD was given to people without their consent or knowledge. Cary Grant was a frequent and enthusiastic user. As early as the late 1940s, anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson became enthusiastic about its potential to unleash a new era of peace and expanded consciousness. The founder of Alcoholic Anonymous was also an early user and said that it was far more effective at treating alcoholism than any other treatment he knew of. Research John Lily, along with Gregory Bateson, began dosing dolphins in the early 1960s, in experiments connected with the U.S. military, in an attempt to learn to communicate with the animals and deploy them as weapons in the cold war.
Hoffman later went on to isolate psilicyben, the active hallucinogenic ingredient in mushrooms, which he also enjoyed experimenting with.
Today In Labor History April 7, 1915: Jazz legend, Billie Holiday, was born. She was one of the first to sing Abel Meeropol’s, “Strange Fruit,” and performed the most well-known version of the anti-lynching song. Soon after her first public performance of the song, in 1939, the new Federal Bureau of Narcotics started gunning for her. Harry Anslinger, who was a racist, prohibition zealot, led the assault. He hired a black agent provocateur, Jimmy Fletcher, to befriend her and sell her drugs. And Fletcher conducted her first drug bust. https://youtu.be/-DGY9HvChXk
(Full disclosure: @WilWheatonRSS reads my name at the end because I was publicly enthusiastic about #RedTeamBlues, the first Marty Hench novel, on social media. If you haven't read it, add it to your queue. It doesn't matter which order you read them in.)
"It's complicated" is the most accurate non-spoily way to describe it. I also finished it waaay too quickly.
You will especially like it if you enjoy people talking about their passions. They may or may not align with your passions, and it doesn't matter because you /want/ to know more.
I like Marty. I have yelled at him for doing stupids, but I'm a geezer and sometimes it's about #experience, not brainpower.
He would be a cool person to know, and not because of his professional skillset, rather, because he's ... interesting.
In this book, I discover that I am not alone in this opinion. I also rediscovered that his #heart is bigger than his head.
There's #sex, #drugs. and .... #soul ... in this story. It's fictional, but packs a /lot/ of #fact. You can easily believe stuff could happen that way. And some of it did, though without Marty's participation.
I backed the #kickstarter; you can find the #audiobook on Libro.fm and support your local bookstore /at the same time/. You can also get the #ebook or a print copy in the usual places.
If you hurry, you can get /all/ the Cory Doctorow ebooks on #HumbleBundle. You won't be disappointed and your purchase supports @eff.
"No previous administrations matched the level of debauchery of Trump’s, whose in-office pharmacists unquestioningly handed out highly addictive substances to staffers who needed pick-me-ups or energy boosts—no doctor’s exam, referral, or prescription required."
He's the one they call Donny Feelgood
He's the one who makes ya feel alright
The most phenomenal thing about this #documentary isn't the very excellent content-- it's the comments.
I have NEVER seen a wall of appreciation and understanding like this in the comments section of YouTube before. It's usually a cesspool of trolling and arguments even on the most ordinary videos. Coverage of drug #addiction and #houselessness is met with particular hate and ignorance, often so frightening and cruel I can't bear to read it. This is different.
Disturbing as it is to watch... This is our reality. When it isn't seen or understood, it festers and spreads out of control. Solid, honest, thorough coverage is so rare-- when I see it I'm sick to my stomach, but at the same time I'm also tingling with a rush of exhileration. Yes, finally! Somebody's not only pointing at the elephants in the room, they're digging in to the history of how the things got here, AND the dynamics of the #gentrification that's riding in on them-- the big picture, for once.
Then I braced myself to glance at the comments... and blinked in amazement. And I scrolled. And scrolled. It just keeps going. I can hardly believe my eyes, and my chest hurts and I'm tearing up.
People get it. They actually get it. 1.7 million views in one day, and counting.
This is what real #journalism looks like. The corporate version is such a sick parody.