I mean, it’s obvious, right?
Why did Planned Parenthood pay $3 for birth control pills, but bill Medicaid $35 per bill? https://t.co/PbK3hhvKcm
— Heritage Action (@Heritage_Action) November 12, 2015
This is how you make money in crony capitalism: you know somebody who looks the other way when you pay artificially low, and sell artificially high. In this case, the government was covering both ends, and all Planned Parenthood had to do was keep the pills rolling. Great work if you can get it, huh? …And the taxpayer pays for the scam.
To me, this is pushing the “They’re EEEEEVVVVIIIIILLLL” narrative a bit much. The price of an inexpensive, generic pill of any kind is going to be more determined by the wages of the pharmacist and the costs of filling out various paperwork than the wholesale cost of the pill. Could we reduce costs by making them OTC, and thus reduce PPA’s profits? Oh yeah.
Is it a “they’re eeevil” or is it making them live by their own (#OWS) narrative, Alinksy-style?
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To the rest of your post .. what would you say if WalMart has the same pill available for $4 from *their* pharmacy?
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I’m not gonna go verify that WalMart carries the same ones, frankly because I don’t care enough to do so – Planned has *no* excuse for this level of up-charge *other than rake-off used to cover some other expenses* .. and any for-profit or non-lefty-aligned not-for-profit would be held to that standard, eh?
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Mew
WalMart is a less than perfect example, they tend to do everything possible to push down prices while still making a profit. Even so, I wouldn’t be surprised if even WalMart has that kind of markup, and I would expect it in a neighborhood pharmacy.
Obamacare was supposed to reduce costs, and I have no problem with some cost cutting directly aimed at planned parenthood. Especially since they likely get grants for this sort of thing anyway.
WalMart is a *perfect* example.
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Why *shouldn’t* I demand WalMart-type levels of efficiency from a not-for-profit that – as you point out – runs on the *government*’s (i.e. *MY*) dime?
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WalMart is crazy-good at cost-cutting, but that’s what makes it a *good* example.. but if you really want another one, Target also has a $4 pharmacy list – and they both have their drug lists published online for comparison shoppers.
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You can, therefore, *go see* whether WalMart has the markup you assert, eh?
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Mew
It’s not the markup. It’s the way that PP uses federal subsidies to buy pills at Price $X, then bill the government at Price $X*10, get reimbursed at $X*9, then ask the people that they’re getting the pills for to chip in Price $X*3 ‘to defray costs.’ This would be a great scam, if I weren’t paying for it.
1. The wages of the pharmacist are going to be pretty much the same no matter where you go. Retail pharmacies offer fairly similar salaries, or else they wouldn’t have any pharmacists. They would all get hired away.
2. As a pharmacist, I don’t think this class of pills should be OTC. Too many risks (blood clots is the big one) and interactions with other drugs. Plus, some birth control 28-day packs have 3 or 4 different strength pills for the month. These are drugs that patients should receive counseling on.
*Note: A system where a prescription is not needed but the drugs are behind the counter might work, but most people get a one year supply after one office visit anyway. Not a whole lot of cost or time saving there, to be honest.