Fleecing seniors

Medicare is not allowed to negotiate prescription drug prices. So 2022 Medicare Part B premiums will rise $21.60 to $170.10, about half of which is due to the new $56,000-a-year Alzheimer’s medication Aduhelm, which was approved by the FDA in June, overriding staff objections because there’s not enough evidence it works.

Many of our elected leaders ran on weakening the monopolistic merger between state and corporate powers, which keep costs about twice as high as in comparable countries, and they didn’t fix it. Most understand how fleecing seniors via overpriced medications is a product of crony capitalism via purchased politicians, but somehow it continues unabated.

Meanwhile, there’s been a breakdown in trust as the scientific establishment seems to support high-profit, non-generic, poorly studied remedies instead of inexpensive, safety-proven alternatives, sacrificing our health and financial condition to benefit those skimming taxpayer monies with the help of our nation’s clearly compromised regulatory infrastructure and political class.

And now it got worse, again.

George Hartzman

Greensboro

November 16, 2021