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Page 2 The Skanner Portland & Seattle March 20, 2019 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Opinion THE SKANNER EDITORIAL: Consumers Need Transparency in Medication Pricing Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor By Bernie Foster, Publisher Jerry Foster Advertising Manager F Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2017 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com rom antibiotics and insu- lin to statins and steroids, medications are essential for many Americans. But prescription drug prices have been rising so fast that people who depend on them to stay alive and healthy can’t afford them. One company, Turing Phar- maceuticals, raised the price of its specialist anti-infection drug Daraprim by 5,000 per- cent. The causes of this health crisis are complicated: from lack of real competition in the drug market to a secretive pricing system that means the same drug can be sold at 50 different prices. Then there is the rebate system that allows middlemen to skim profits so the people paying for the drugs don’t get the benefits. Sen. Ron Wyden didn’t hold back when he spoke to phar- maceutical company bosses in Congress last week. He laid into them saying their profits are “outsized” and their “way of business is unacceptable.” We agree. Of course drug companies should be able to take a profit. But they shouldn’t be exploiting the most vulnerable people in America just because they can. “ All should have their cost of drug prices trans- parent, up and down, so everyone knows the costs Sen. Wyden is working at the federal level to increase pricing transparency and to reduce costs for Medicare re- cipients. If his bills pass they will help but more will be needed. There is a group of com- panies known as pharmacy benefit managers. They are healthcare benefit managers, drug stores, and others. All should have their cost of drug Of course drug companies should be able to take a profit. But they shouldn’t be exploiting the most vulnerable people in America just because they can prices transparent, up and down, so everyone knows the costs. Oregon lawmakers are look- ing at a long list of bills that aim to help solve this health crisis. They should be paying close attention to drug pric- ing. There are more than a doz- en ideas under consideration. One idea would allow the state Board of Pharmacy to import drugs from Canada. Another would direct phar- macists to substitute generics for branded drugs. A third would allow pharmacists to dispense emergency insulin. And yet another bill would allow patients who pay out of pocket to apply the cost to their deductibles. And those are just four of the proposals. These ideas are worth think- ing through. So we urge leg- islators to work closely with diverse groups, and to aim for a transparent pricing system and a fair deal for consumers. What do you think? www.TheSkanner.com ©2018 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS LOCAL EVENTS d ay ! • L i ke u s o n F ebo m me • nts TheSkannerNews o k • learn • co in y o u r c o m m u n to y • ac it Updated daily online. Jobs Report Shows What ‘African Americans Have to Lose’ Under Trump T he latest report from the U.S. Labor Department has provided still anoth- er answer to the infa- mous question of “What the hell do [African Americans] have to lose?” That question, of course, was posed by Donald Trump during his successful run for president in 2016. With racial tensions, prejudice and bigot- ry ever increasing and among the responses to Trump’s question, another answer for Black America is jobs. The latest jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department revealed that the unemploy- “ Stacy M. Brown NNPA Columnist ed a quote attributed to Stu- art Varney, who said on Fox & Friends there is no better time to be an American work- er and that “we have the stron- gest economy in the world.” Trump added, “So true!” But his tweet ignored the fact that analysts expected the econo- my to add 180,000 new jobs. Three straight months of increas- es in the Black unemployment rate from three straight increases in unemployed workers ment rate for Black workers moved in the wrong direc- tion for the third consecutive month. The report shows that un- employment increased from 6.8 percent in January to 7 percent in February. Overall the country’s unem- ployment rate declined to 3.8 percent in February, but only 20,000 jobs were created. President Trump tweet- Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.5 per- cent), Whites (3.3 percent), and Hispanics (4.3 percent) decreased in February. The jobless rates for adult women (3.4 percent), teen- agers (13.4 percent), Blacks (7.0 percent), and Asians (3.1 percent) did little to move the needle and analysts said the unemployment rate for His- PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO / NNPA The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. panics has never been this low. “Now would be the time for the Federal Reserve to worry,” said William Spriggs, a chief economist at the AFL-CIO and professor in the department of Economics at Howard Uni- versity. “Three straight months of increases in the Black un- employment rate from three straight increases in unem- ployed workers. They bet- ter listen to Neel Kashkari [president of the Federal Re- serve Bank in Minneapolis],” Spriggs said. Recognizing the tension be- tween the Federal Reserve’s focus on asset prices and the real economy, Kashkari re- cently pointed out that, “If the U.S. economy is creating 200,000 jobs a month, month- after-month, we’re not at max- imum employment.” “For the three years since I’ve been at the Fed, we have been surprised by the labor market. We keep thinking we’re at maximum employ- ment. And then wage growth is tepid. And the headline un- employment rate drops fur- ther. Inflation has been well under control,” Kashkari said. Spriggs said since reaching a low of 6 percent in Novem- ber, the Black unemploy- ment rate has climbed three straight months. “Given the relationship of the Black community to predatory sub- prime auto loans this is not good,” he said. Stacy is a veteran journalist and author of the forthcom- ing biography: “Aftermath: Michael Jackson’s Dysfunc- tional Family and the Legacy of the King of Pop.” He’s also the author of “Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder’s Mother,” “Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask,” and “Fighting Temptation: The Da- mon Harris Story.” nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve