Rand Paul absolutely nails it when he writes on Time.com that the “EpiPen Scandal Is a Perfect Example of Crony Capitalism.”
Some are pointing toward this as an example of corporate greed or the excesses of capitalism, but they’re missing the larger picture. This is an almost perfect example of crony capitalism and a government-dominated system that is failing consumers.
There isn’t a whole lot of capitalism in health care anymore. In fact, that’s one of the major problems we have to fix. There are very few market forces and competition, and most of us are shielded from caring what something costs.
But we don’t always see why this is so. Obamacare promised to make this better, but it has made it worse, with a long list of mandates and subsidies that further drive out any market force.
But government blame doesn’t end there. The regulators at the Food and Drug Administration have made a giant mess of the process to get a new drug or device approved, and they act as a huge roadblock to cheaper, generic drugs and competition that could drive prices on life-saving drugs like epinephrine down.
He goes on to explain the EpiPen situation in particular, as well as problems with the cost of drugs in the US more generally. And he talks about some possible legislative fixes. His ideas are good. They’d increase competition, which would, just like with shoes or restaurants or computers, increase quality while driving down costs. And that’s definitely a win for every patient who needs an EpiPen.
