Big Pharma Quietly Hikes Drug Prices 100 Percent or More

[annabanana]

Source: Natural News

(NaturalNews) Without any fanfare, pharmaceutical companies have been raising the prices of many of their drugs by 100 percent or more, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Minnesota.

The researchers investigated cases in which drugs had their prices increased by 100 percent or more in a single cost adjustment, finding that drug companies had done so for 26 products in 2006. Questcor Pharmaceuticals, for example, increased the price of its drug Acthar (used to treat spasms in infants) by 1,424 percent, from $1,650 per vial to a whopping $23,000.

The practice seems to be getting more common. In 2004, only 15 drugs had their prices so drastically increased. By only the first half of 2008, however, already the prices of 17 drugs had at least doubled.

"There's no simple explanation," said Stephen Schondelmeyer of the University of Minnesota. "Some companies seem to figure no one is watching so they can get away with it."


Read more: http://www.naturalnews.com/025683.html

---

I know this story wasn't just released.. But I have seen NOT A PEEP in corporate media, and I think it deserves some wider scrutiny..

[rpannier]

1. recommend

[Joanne98]

2. the MSM won't report it. Notice how many big pharma ads they run.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. That's weird, since that article itself acknowledges USA Today as a source

Here it is, from back in August last year: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2008-08-07-costlydrugs_N.htm

[Incitatus]

33. I don't know how many pharmaceutical articles are found in the print media

I really only read articles from online. But I do know there are many on the cable news channels, which to my knowledge have not covered this story.

[The River]

6. Exactly

at times I swear I'm watching the
"Incontinent News E.D. Network"....
regardless of the actual channel.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

22. really! And I feel like it's "sick old ladies' programming"!

As a middle aged lady who isn't very middle aged, and who ain't no "lady" (as described by network teevee), I get a case of media induced projectile vomiting, being targeted to convince me how sick I am all the time.

What the fuck are we women to them, but consumers to be bled dry? (this is really cynical of me, but I wonder if Pharma targets women's drugs specifically for hikes? There is data out there showing that there are other businesses that follow that pattern--it's not uncommon....)

[shadowknows69]

3. Guess I should have picked up those presecriptions yesterday

I'll report back about any increase around here that I see. They already bumped the price on a few of mine.

[LeftishBrit]

4. Disgusting

Access to medicines is a basic human right, which is denied when they are made unaffordable.

[bobshin]

47. Really? I beg to differ.

They're a scam to poison people who believe like you do that we need to depend on them. There wouldn't be a need for most of them if people took control of their own health and didn't depend on the advice of doctors who are not trained to practice health but prescribe drugs.

As someone who has not taken any drugs- even aspirin- for over 20 years, I am insulted that I have to subsidize a system that delves out drugs like candy while ignoring simple health maintenance issues.

Your statement is upside down.

[HERVEPA]

51. Great logic. Not.

People who suffer from depression due to chemical imbalance.
People with congestive heart failure.
People with pneumonia.
People with AIDS.
People with debilitating illnesses in constant pain.
People with strep throat.
People with arthritis.
People with cancer.

ALL THEIR OWN FAULT? All preventable?

Your arrogance is disgusting.

[Grinchie]

56. Pretzel Logic confronted

People who suffer from depression due to chemical imbalance.
People with congestive heart failure.
People with pneumonia.
People with AIDS.
People with debilitating illnesses in constant pain.
People with strep throat.
People with arthritis.
People with cancer.

ALL THEIR OWN FAULT? All preventable?

Your arrogance is disgusting.

Actually, it's your ignorance that's disgusting

Depression -- Eat the right foods, get out in the sun, and get away from jerks.
Heart Failure -- You really think drugs are going to help with that? East the right kind of food, start taking H2O2 in water every day, a clean out your toxins.
Pneumonia -- Get out of your moldy, dusty spore laden hovels and breathe clean air. Get an ozonator.
Aids - Take a deep breath and get out of stress.
Strep Throat. Have those infected Teeth removed, instead of them leaking Strep into your system for the rest of your life.
Arthritis - Same as above
Cancer - Take a deep breath and focus your healing energy on getting better.

People that get these diseses don't do it on purpose, but when stress forces them into protection mode, the immune system suffers. Remove stress and you nullify the chance disease will overwhelm the system.

[tkmorris]

64. "Cancer - Take a deep breath and focus your healing energy"

Oh FFS. Get me off this fucking planet. I'm surrounded by fucking IDIOTS!

[GOPBasher]

67. That's a very good satire!!!!

I have to admit, that's one of the funniest satires I've read in a while.

"Cancer - Take a deep breath and focus your healing energy on getting better." lmao -- Damn that's good.

"Aids - Take a deep breath and get out the stress." -- Dude, you're a comedian!

And also, if we talk to the invisible pink ponies who live in our eyebrows, they will make us all better!

[ProfessorGAC]

68. I Have MS

Have any useless advice for me?

You're an arrogant buffoon. How dare you tell anyone truly ill that they really aren't sick and don't need medicine.

You need to think before you type.
GAC

[defendandprotect]

72. PS: Don't forget to remove all corporate polluters --- !!!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

74. Wayne Dwyer, is that you????

Fucking tool. :eyes:

[eridani]

52. Well bully for you. Turns out you are one of the 85% of the population--

--that accounts for only 15% of total health care costs. Are they giving out medals for that or something?

[elleng]

7. Yes but

within what period of time? Would help to have that important fact lead the story, to obtain max. 'startle.'

[pokercat999]

8. Way past time to nationalize our health-care including

Big Pharma. Why do we have NIH?

[sfpcjock]

9. I'm reminded of the $125 inhaler...

in "Sicko" that sold for 5 cents in Havana, Cuba. Sounds like Pharmas preparing for the Repiggy Medicare Part D boondoggle to be repealed by requiring competitive bidding for drug prices just as the VA does.

[HelenWheels]

12. Huge markup on inhalers

I worked in the correctional system that buys drugs in volume. When I retired 9 years ago the markup was almost 100% for the general public and I doubt if it's any less now.

[Vinca]

10. Maybe something should be set up within the government

to monitor drug prices the same way state governments monitor electric rates and other utilities. If the cost of a drug is going to be increased, the case has to be made in front of the oversight board. The oversight board would also have to approve the initial price of a drug so they can't start out with a foolish amount. $23,000 for a vial of anything should bring criminal charges. It's a shake down.

[DemReadingDU]

11. with more people losing jobs and their access to health insurance

With no job and no health insurance, who is going to be able to afford these drugs?

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

13. "There's no simple explanation," Yes their is,

Bush&Cheney got a lot of friends.

[global1]

14. So When They Drop Prices - They Can Tout A Big Drop - And Still Be Priced......

higher than they originally were. And you know what - we'll continue to use them and pay for them. Better living through chemistry (sarcasm).

[defendandprotect]

38. They may be anticipating a "change" ahead . . . ????

[DeepBlueC]

54. I think so ...

There is going to be an end to making it illegal for Medicare to negotiate prices so they are marking them up so they can negotiate down and STILL get higher prices.

[Enthusiast]

63. That was my first thought.

Maybe we can finally get some reasonable prices. If there was a simple law limiting U.S. prices to not exceed that of other nations. Or, maybe we could have 'free trade' that included scrip drugs, not just illegal ones.

[spanone]

15. nationalize .....

[Toucano]

21. Seconded. n-t

[Tuesday_Morning]

16. I just refilled a prescription in Spain

About $5 for 84 pills here vs $30 for 30 pills in the US. Same meds, same US company.

[bluesmail]

17. The simple explanation is they know their time is a comin'.

:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: and they're probably scrambling for legal advice ergo the mark up of drugs.

[DainBramaged]

18. A medication I HAVE to take went from $125 to $250 December of 2007

And the company that makes it is being sued by the FTC for CRIMINAL conspiracy charges by paying off it's generic competitors NOT to make the drug. And they have been doing this for five years under the Bullshit misAdministration.

http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2009/02/solvay-androgel-pay-for-delay-scam.html

Solvay Pharmaceuticals is understandably pleased with AndroGel, the synthetic testosterone gel it developed in 2003. Not only does the drug bring in more than $400 million a year in sales to AIDS patients, cancer patients, elderly men and others who suffer from low levels of testosterone, but the company was granted a 17-year patent, which bars competitors from entering the market with a generic version until 2020. Unless, that is, the patent can be successfully challenged. Which is exactly what three drug makers tried to do. In applications to the Food and Drug Administration, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Par Pharmaceuticals and Paddock Laboratories argued that Solvay's patent wasn't valid and that, in any case, they could manufacture generic versions of AndroGel without infringing it.

Needless to say, Solvay was dismayed by the threat to its $400-million revenue stream. So it made a deal that has become all too common in recent years: It took its competitors aside and offered a compromise under which the companies would agree not to market a generic version for another nine years -- in return for a share of Solvay's monopoly profits.

Hooray for negotiation! Everyone's a winner!

Except, of course, the consumer. By holding generics off the market until 2015, the deal keeps prices high. When generics become available, prices can drop as much as 80% to 90%. So Solvay's gain was the consumer's loss.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission and the California attorney general filed suit in federal court, calling the deal illegal and anti-competitive. They said the companies had chosen to "collude rather than compete." The commission also noted that Solvay's "pay for delay" deal is far from unusual. Nearly half of all agreements between generics and brand-name manufacturers in 2006 and 2007 included payments in return for staying out of the market.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. One result from Senator Klobuchar: FTC Sues Ovation Pharmaceuticals for unlawful profits

December 2008:

The Federal Trade Commission today filed a complaint in federal district court challenging Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s January 2006 acquisition of the drug NeoProfen, which eliminated its only competitor for the treatment of a serious and potentially deadly congenital heart defect affecting more than 30,000 babies born prematurely each year in the United States. When it acquired NeoProfen, Ovation already held the rights to Indocin I.V., the only other drug used to treat this serious condition. After ensuring that it would not face competition from NeoProfen, Ovation promptly raised the price of Indocin nearly 1,300 percent, from $36 to nearly $500 a vial. When it launched NeoProfen in July 2006, Ovation set a similarly inflated price.

“By acquiring its only competitor in the treatment of a serious heart condition affecting premature babies, Ovation has been able to charge dramatically higher prices for its drugs,” said Acting FTC Bureau of Competition Director David P. Wales. “While Ovation is profiting from its illegal acquisition, hospitals and ultimately consumers and American taxpayers are forced to pay millions of dollars a year more for these life-saving medications. The action taken today is intended to restore the lost competition and require Ovation to give up its unlawful profits.”

The FTC filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Indocin and NeoProfen are the only two pharmaceutical treatments sold in the U.S. for a condition known as patent ductus arteriosus, a disorder that primarily affects very low birth- weight premature infants. In babies with this condition, the blood vessel connecting two major arteries of the heart fails to close on its own soon after birth. Patent ductus arteriosus can be fatal if not treated. The only treatment other than drug therapy is surgery, which carries the risk of serious complications and costs far more than treatment with either Indocin or NeoProfen.

Ovation, a privately owned corporation based in Deerfield, Illinois, sells pharmaceuticals in more than 85 countries, including the United States. In August 2005, Ovation purchased the rights to Indocin from Merck. At that time, NeoProfen was awaiting regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the FTC’s complaint, Ovation expected that NeoProfen, once approved, would take a substantial portion of sales from Indocin. To eliminate the threat that NeoProfen posed, the Commission charges, Ovation acquired the U.S. rights to NeoProfen from Abbott Laboratories in January 2006. The NeoProfen transaction fell below the regulatory threshold for reporting acquisitions to the federal antitrust authorities.
...
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/12/ovation.shtm

[Horse with no Name]

25. Amazing. Indocin is $250?

:wow:
That is BS.

[L0oniX]

20. Sociopath leaches!

[CoffeeCat]

23. I think corporations are getting desperate...

They're realizing that pretty soon---Americans will have NO non-discretionary income. That means no sales for them.

So, they're jacking up prices and squeezing out as many dollars as they possibly can--before the spigot is turned off
for a long, long time.

I've seen this with other companies. It's like they're playing dirty to get the most dollars out NOW.

Look at the credit-card companies. They're jacking up interest rates and playing dirty--to ensure that customers
have to pay outrageous late fees.

I've also experienced this with Qwest. We signed up for their "Price For Life" program. We get a set Internet price, in
exchange for us agreeing to a two-year contract. Our Internet rates increased and they insist that the small print states
that the rate can go up. What a crock!

Corporations are like squirrels right now...stocking up nuts for a long, hard winter. They know damn well that the economy
is going to collapse and their sales will drop off the charts.

[Grinchie]

57. They know that their pricing model is a sham.

Just like the housing market, the fundamentals are so out of whack that they don't know what to charge anymore, as long is the computer models show a 5% growth in profits down the line. The trouble is that the models are not capable of dealing with negative growth, so they will go down with the ship as they price themselves out of the market.

Furtermore, I truly believe that the people are actually taking a close look at their outlays, they see that the benefits no longer make economical sense. People are begining to demand real value for their money, which is something that has been frittered away over the past few years.

No longer will people buy anything from WalMart for a cheap price, only to find that it is a one off item, or cannot be repaired, or does not have light bulbs that are sold in america. Plastic fantasic, stylish items that turn out to be uncomfortable, unwieldly or unusable, despite the Autocad, designer tools used to produce them are no longer worth the few pennies they used to fool people into buying it.

The same thing goes with medicines that increase in price, when increased productivity should be decreasing the price! The Pharma companies are paying for the outlandish stipends paid to the Bush Administration, as well as the DLC/Blue Dogs that are bought and paid for.

Be like Gandhi and cast off the myth that you need drugs for restless leg syndrome. Get to the roots and find out the cause, and don't finance them with a placebo that can kill you.

Look up Electro Medicine, and you try and figure out why the AMA has tried to kill it for the past 60 years. When you see that it actually holds the cure for nearly all diseases, you can see that Big Medicine, Big Pharma is just another racket preying on peoples suffering in order to move product.

You see, Electricity varies only in the nature of the waveform, frequency, and current. It requires no chemical compounds, thus eliminating the need for drugs. This would kill the pharma industry overnight. It would create a new industry in electronic personal health devices, especially since they are so cheap to manufacture. Intead we manufacture cell phones that broadcast Microwave radiation into our brains, cooking them into stupidity.

[CoffeeCat]

70. I love your post...

...and I wish I could recommend it!

What an amazing and astute commentary on our economy and the sham that it is.

I agree with you about the drug companies. I loved "a placebo that can kill you". You should TM that, because
it is so true. I listen to these drug commercials in horror. The side effects, always communicated by a soothing
voice over, are unacceptable. The side effects are often worse than the initial condition that the drug is meant to
treat.

And since when do we need drugs to treat shyness and normal, everyday anxiety? Why are we constantly made to feel like
defectives because we're not in a constant state of joy?

I rarely take any pharmaceuticals. Usually, when a doctor prescribes something, I throw it away. Last week, I went in
to the doctor for chest pains. It turns out, I had pulled something moving furniture. The doctor tried to give me a
prescription--a muscle relaxer. I took it and never filled it. When you move furniture, you might be sore for a day--and
we don't need to medicate ourselves every time we have a little ache. They do this to my kids as well. My daughter choked
on some food last month. She's got some anxiety about eating. We took her to a therapist who recommended that we discuss
this with their resident child psychiatrist. He spent an hour trying to talk us into putting her on Zoloft. Hello!!
She's only nine years old. Her reaction is normal---even based on evolutionary biology. You have a bad experience
with something and an imprint is made. It takes a while to feel safe again. Big pharma = big sham.

I also thought your comment about cheap plastic junk that is designed with AutoCad designer software. Those software tools, as
you suggest--enable aesthetically pleasing design. Many things look good. However, is the plastic chair really comfortable?
Does it hold up for more than a month? No, and no--to both questions. Those design tools sparked innovation in the automotive
and aviation industries--but you're so right, this technology has been used to breed low-end junk that looks pretty. Love this observation!

I appreciate your thoughts. Very thought-provoking and interesting. Thanks for sharing...

[OhioChick]

24. K&R

:kick:

[Kablooie]

26. Good for them! That's the American Way! Hurrah!

[csziggy]

27. My prescription costs increased 50% last year over 2007

Even though one is now available in an over the counter generic that I can get cheaper that way than through a prescription. So that one has not even been in my deductible column for nearly a year. So fewer prescriptions, more money - much more money. And that is WITH insurance, though since two of my meds are not available in generic and I cannot use generic for another, my co-pay is above the minimum.

[AnnieBW]

28. There was a guy in line ahead of me at CVS

whose prescription was $91 WITH insurance. He couldn't believe it, since it hadn't been that high before. Fortunately, he could pay for it. At least he did with a credit card.

I felt bad following him up with my $7 one.

[MiniMe]

29. Had a similiar experience today

The woman in front of me was charged $150 or so for a prescription. She was a senior with Medicaid part D, and she asked if insurance paid any of it. She had already fulfilled her deductable. She was questioning it because it was a lot more than it was last year. Turned out that insurance had paid $50 or so for it, but she had to pay the rest. They really need to do something about Medicare Part D.

[AllentownJake]

65. Medicare Part D was a collosal fraud

It was a gift to both private health insurers and Big Pharma.

[defendandprotect]

73. Medicare Part D should be reworked, eliminating insurance companies, ASAP--!!!

[rainbow4321]

30. My sis tried to get a Zofran script for her son

who had a stomach virus...came to roughly $10 per pill. And that was with her insurance.
A pregnant co-worker of mine was also on it..she took one "too late" and had thrown up anyway..she was so upset, all she could think of was that that was one $10+ pill she had "wasted".

Info on comparing prices at pharmacies
http://www.katu.com/news/problemsolver/15497121.html
--------
Last year my daughter was given an Advair inhaler script when she went to the doc..damn thing was going to cost close to $200 WITH insurance.

She faired better off this weekend when she went to the ER for breathing problems..the student healthcare center would not listen to her (in the afternoon) when she tried to tell them "I have a history of my asthma acting up when I get a respiratory infection, give me prednisone and an antibiotic, it helped last time". They wouldn't do it, they would only give her an albuterol inhaler (even though she already HAD one at home).
The albuterol only helped for 20 minutes at home so she went to the ER at 10 pm. They did a real assessment, did a chest xray, gave her 2 breathing treatments because her wheezing would not stop...and gave her what she needed. Antibiotic and prednisone scripts, and a Proventil inhaler script. With insurance, the scripts came to $60. Still a lot of money, especially to a college kid, but after last year's Advair sticker shock, she was relieved at the $60.

[defendandprotect]

40. And, evidently, doctors are giving no warning of the costs of the drug they are

prescribing --- ???

In fact, around 9/11, I had a nasal infection and the doctor gave me a super

drug prescription -- I had asked him for Ampicillin which I knew works for me ---

and it cost me $125. AND, it did nothing, but make me feel ill. I had to stop

taking it. I called him and complained -- and went to another doctor who gave me

an Ampicillin prescription which was $11.00 -- and it worked!!!

There's a lot of BS surrounding this drug/prescription game-playing and without

help from physicians the drug companies couldn't be pulling it off.

[elizfeelinggreat]

71. A good point

I always kick myself when I've forgotten to ask the doctor to check the generic box or even what the drug might cost. It's usually when a kid is sick and all you're thinking of is helping them get better as quickly as possible. Then you're stuck looking at an ultra-expensive antibiotic and saying, WTH?

These new antibiotics are sometimes wonderful - targeted to whatever is causing the infection - or just hyped as full-spectrum stuff that the doc gives you to cover his bases. The latter is what troubles me because they say that can cause problems down the road.

[Faryn Balyncd]

31. That what happens when you let the DRUG COMPANY LOBBYISTS write the Medicare Px Drug plan...........

..........and back down to these companies on the issue of re-importation of Canadian drugs.


Bush ran in 2000 promising to allow re-importation pf Canadian drugs. Again in 2004, he said he would "look into" it.


Such an action would have benefited not only seniors but ALL Americans, and would have cost the treasuty NOTHING.


Bush then proceeded to support a prescription drug "benefit" that forbid the head of HHS from even negotiating the best price from from companies, and took the position that re-importation of American made drugs from Canada, where the Canadian government has negotiated a decent price, was, of all things "unsafe".


Drug prices have skrocketed.


What happened when we let Ken Lay and Dick Chenet create energy policy?


What the hell do you think will happen if we let the INSURANCE LOBBY write heealthcare "reform"????????????

[flyingobject]

55. "re-importation" thats right, made in US, sold to Canadians for much less than what we pay

in the US.

[pnwmom]

32. Here's why: they charge "what the market will bear."

The "correct" price is the highest they can charge while retaining the most possible customers.

[jtrockville]

34. This is an excellent example of why profit should be banned from health care.

It's perverse.

[Dumak]

35. We need to reduce the drug patent durations to about 3 years,

and create an *international* drug R&D organization to develop and sell non-profit drugs. We have an international space station - we can do the same with drugs.

[OwnedByFerrets]

36. ...

"There's no simple explanation," said Stephen Schondelmeyer of the University of Minnesota. "Some companies seem to figure no one is watching so they can get away with it."


Doesnt matter if anyone is watching. They can and WILL get away with it. They have the consumer by the balls.

[Grinchie]

58. Thats incorrect

They have lead the consumer to believe they have no other choice, when they have many, including the power of their own mind.

[provis99]

59. Right. Levitate yourself to health.

How's that Natural Law Party working out for you?

[amyrose2712]

37. F@ckers.

[northofdenali]

39. K&R

We pay (between just my husband and I) well over $300 a month for needed drugs, mostly for his heart problems and my fibromyalgia.

We can't afford to do so any more, even though I just landed a new job (starts March 4th). The drugs are this high per month WITH INSURANCE. The money represents our co-pay!! One drug, alone, is over $150.00.

As the spouse just said, "The country is going broke, so these guys are just trying to accelerate it, right?!

[LuckyLib]

41. Like the credit card companies, they are smelling the Obama posse hot on their trail.

And they need to make big $$$$ while they still can. Their days are numbered.

[Avalux]

42. They do it because they can. Will people stop buying? No.

There's an ethical component to all of this that the pharmaceutical companies use to their advantage. They know that if the drugs aren't taken, people can become very ill or even die (in the case of asthma).

So what do they do? Raise prices by A LOT - knowing full well people will buy them becuase they need them.

Has NOTHING to do with supply and demand, cost of development or production and it's evil.

[Bryn]

43. Mom's 30 patches monthly for her demetia went from 242.00 to 255.00

Mom has Medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield but pharma won't reduce the cost because she doesn't have Plan D. Is it worth it for her to join Plan D? I heard that Plan D was Bush's gift to pharmies. It would cost her 22.00 per month right out of SS in addition to Medicare if she joined.

I found online that I could order same brand for her from Canada for 170.00. Is it safe? it's http://www.canadadrugs.com

Hope I get an answer on this one.

[Avalux]

45. Yes it's safe.

As long as the distributor is above-board. I have worked in the pharma industry for years and Canada follows stricter regulations than the US. :hi:

[Bryn]

46. Thank you! Perhaps Mom doesn't have to join Plan D, Bush's gift to pharmies

:hi:

[Avalux]

48. Let's hope Obama fixes Medicare.

Open it up to everyone and morph it in to "universal" health coverage; take perks to big pharma out. :hi:

[Gman]

44. No one WAS watching

but they're watching real close right now. I think this is no different than $4/gallon gas last year. They did it because they could and it was Bush's last year so they made the best of it.

[Wednesdays]

49. One month supply for my child's meds: $900

Fortunately, we have insurance, so it's "only" $125. :eyes:

[shellgame26]

50. synthetic drugs

aren't nearly as effective as natural products and unlike natural medicines, can be toxic. The FDA and big Pharma have been in bed for way too long.

[rasputin1952]

53. Seems to me there is a "simple explanation" pure greed...

:grr:

[PatSeg]

60. I went to get a prescription filled a couple of weeks ago

I don't have insurance anymore and when I did it cost me $25. The retail was around $75. Well this time it was $142.00. I declined. It was an inhaler. I figured over time it would have gone down in price. That is insane. There is no way it costs them double to make the same inhaler. There has been no change in the product.

[antimatter98]

61. Like the banks, pharma is out to gouge the public. Will Obama shut these people down? n/t

[McCamy Taylor]

62. Medicare and Medicaid.

[Auggie]

66. Greedy bastards are shooting themselves in their collective feet

Nothing is going to rile up the masses more than hitting people where it hurts the most. Real health care reform will happen only when the people get really, really pissed.

[Bryn]

69. Kick

:kick: Let's hope Obama takes a note of this one.