A few years ago I was looking for data. Not a strange occupation as I make my living as a data informed analyst and medical writer. But I always felt there had to be something driving the increase in chronic diseases in the general population. Not only the upward climb in reported rates of dementia but across the board. It seemed there was something. I thought maybe food policy was to blame. There are a lot of potential correlations to be examined. Why isn't this a larger priority?
I suggest in a profit making healthcare system--what would be the point? When rent-seeking is the status quo why would we want to identify potential causative factors?
I suggest in a profit making healthcare system--what would be the point? When rent-seeking is the status quo why would we want to identify potential causative factors?
Economists have a name for these activities: they call them rent seeking, getting income not as a reward to creating wealth but by trapping a larger share of the wealth that would otherwise have been produced without their effort. Those at the top have learned to suck out money from the rest in ways that the rest are hardly aware of - that is their true innovation.--The Price of Inequality, Joseph E. Stiglitz
Rent-seeking describes competition between companies to confer advantages involving unproductive use of resources resulting in advantage to the firms. Instead of making a better product at a lower price, companies seek benefits by influencing policy. Examples include lobbying the government for taxing, spending and regulatory policies without returning any benefits to the consumers.
I know we are comfortable assigning blame to the pharmaceutical companies but when we grab the low hanging fruit we show a disregard or ignorance to the "corporate health-care middlemen".
I know we are comfortable assigning blame to the pharmaceutical companies but when we grab the low hanging fruit we show a disregard or ignorance to the "corporate health-care middlemen".
As the drug industry has come back down to earth, the returns of the 46 middlemen on the list have soared. Fifteen years ago they accounted for a fifth of industry profits; now their share is 41%. Health-insurance companies generate abnormally high returns, but so do the wholesalers, the benefit managers and the pharmacies. |
In total middlemen capture $126 of excess profits a year per American, or about two-thirds of the whole industry’s excess profits. Express Scripts earns billions while having less than $1bn of physical plants and no disclosed investment in R&D. |
I have about a 3.5 hour drive to the coast and like to listen to my podcast queue. I was listening to Rich Roll and his guest Zach Bush, MD discuss glyphosate and the increase in chronic disease associated with the widespread use of Round-Up weed killer. Look at the red line on the charts below. Interesting to say the least. I am planning on digging a little deeper into current data but as far as hypothesis generation goes--It looks worth examining.
If you want a deeper dive into the discussion I suggest clicking on the podcast. Zach Bush is one of the few triple board certified physicians. His compelling quote is an important one to remember "The politicians are not the solution. You and I are the solution as consumers".
