Ok. I can agree with that.
But, is it irrelevant in the same way that defense contractors charge exorbitant fees for their wares?
Is it the same way that hospitals charge you and me, and our insurance companies if we have it, $15 for an aspirin to help cover the cost of some illegal alien that is receiving care in the ER?
Is it the same way that a hospital can charge $30k for a hand surgery, while the Surgery center down the street charges $2750?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uPdkhMVdMQ ... not sure if you’ve ever seen this, but it is rather informative.
If consumers were paying for these drugs out of pocket, instead of relying on prescription plans in their insurance plans, all but the newest and most unique would be affordable.
.
When you consider the life threatening consequences of taking them, no drug can be considered “affordable.”
I once worked for a company that repaired medical ultrasound equipment.
We had a couple of VA hospitals as customers.
Their costs were 300% of what we charged other customers.
Why? Paperwork. The government is a red tape nightmare to deal with. Everything takes forever to get done, and the paperwork is staggering.
Same reason the space shuttle flew with obsolete avionics on its maiden flight. Took so long for new equipment to get approved and adopted by NASA that they were always well behind the times for components they didn’t produce themselves.