Page 2 The Skanner Portland & Seattle March 20, 2019
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Challenging People to Shape
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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
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Graphic Designer
Monica J. Foster
Seattle Office Coordinator
Susan Fried
Photographer
2017
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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?
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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-
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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 •
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