Op Ed- Congressman Zeldin Lowering Cost Of Prescription Drugs

Lowering the Burdensome Cost of Needed Prescription Drugs

Part 1 of a 2 Part Op-ed by Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1)

The rising cost of prescription drugs has dealt a crushing blow to the wallets of everyday Americans and put a great strain on the government supported programs some of our country’s most vulnerable populations, our seniors, children, disabled and impoverished communities, rely on.

According to a report by Express Scripts, a prescription benefits company, between 2008 and 2015, name brand drug prices increased by 164%. These price spikes frequently make life-saving medications unaffordable. When it comes to driving down the cost of prescription drugs for those who need it most, we must consider every option.

This Congress, in an effort to keep pace with an ever-changing marketplace and ever-evolving scientific innovation, the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (H.R. 2430) was passed into law to bring lower-cost generic drug alternatives and biosimilars to market faster by increasing competition and lowering drug costs. With an increase in authority and flexibility, this reauthorization streamlines the process for reviewing and approving new treatments and cures for patients, ultimately delivering new and innovative therapies, drugs and devices to patients more quickly.

Under current law, the federal government has the ability to negotiate the prices of the prescription drugs government purchases from manufacturers, but the negotiating authority is insufficient and outdated. Currently, the federal government has the ability to negotiate prices under Medicare, but even when the government can negotiate prices, it is hamstrung by overregulation that ensures it cannot push for the same prices charged throughout the rest of the world. 

Under Medicare Part D, before reimbursing doctors, Medicare adds 6% to the sales price reported by pharmaceutical companies, then forces patients to cover 20% of the total cost. The burden to negotiate for prices is disproportionately left to doctors, often small practitioners who lack the market power to bargain effectively. As a result, Medicare pays significantly more than European countries for the same drugs, passing costs along to taxpayers and patients alike. The drug companies receive a windfall from Medicare’s lack of negotiating ability, reporting profit margins more than double market averages and earning upwards of an additional $50 billion annually in revenue from overcharging consumers. 

So what else can government do to lower the price of prescription drug prices? With some reforms, Medicare Part D could provide the rough outlines of a solution. Within Medicare Part D, private non-profit and for-profit health insurance companies bid to provide prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries and separately negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies. The incentive for Part D plan sponsors to negotiate lower prices comes from the fact that they can then reduce their premiums for Medicare beneficiaries and therefore attract more customers. Due to the fact the taxpayer subsidy depends on the bids submitted by plan sponsors, this competition benefits not only Medicare beneficiaries, but taxpayers overall. Medicare Part D should be reformed to provide plans increased flexibility to enhance negotiating power with drug manufacturers and drive down costs for beneficiaries.

Notably, the bid system within Medicare Part D could ensure that cheap and effective generic products reach consumers. By forcing companies to bid for Medicare’s business, the government could promote competition within the marketplace, driving down prices on name-brand products. While depression medication Welbutrin costs, on average, $6,000 per 100 pills, its generic counterpart, Bupropion, costs only $50-$60 for the same quantity. Though name-brand anxiety drug Adivan also costs, on average, $6,000 for 100 pills, an equal supply of Lorazepam costs only $2-$3. The shocking discrepancies in price continue across the board, from asthma medication to EpiPens to blood pressure drugs to cancer treatments. The recent price spike in a 2-pack of EpiPens from around $100 to over $600 epitomizes the monopoly power of the drug companies. The producer of EpiPens could overcharge customers at will, confident that few generic counterparts could compete. Similarly, the price of insulin to treat diabetes tripled within 10 years, the cost of asthma medication increased 6% and the price of Betaseron spiked from $8,000 per year to close to $60,000.

Americans who rely on EpiPens and other drugs in potentially life and death situations have been railroaded with a lifesaving medication at a price they cannot afford and we must work to drive down the increasingly burdensome cost they have been saddled with.

Congressman Lee Zeldin represents the First Congressional District of New York in Congress where he services on both the House Financial Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - $ 7.6 Billion Subsidy (Tax Increase) Buried In Electric Bill

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Long Island Power Authority ratepayers—including those in Suffolk County—will be and already are paying a disproportionate share of the $7.6 billion bailout of four upstate nuclear power plants pushed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The bailout runs for 12 years. It kicked in last year with an added charge in the electric bills of all New York State residents, businesses and other entities including schools and governments.

A lawsuit is underway in New York State Supreme Court to end the bailout. It follows unsuccessful efforts in the State Legislature to stop it, of which State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. from Suffolk, was a leader. “The lawsuit is our hope now,” he said last week.

The disproportionate share LIPA ratepayers are being charged is based on a complicated formula developed by Exelon, which owns in whole or part the four plants, and approved by the state. Tim Judson, executive director of the Nuclear Information & Resource Service, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, calculates that LIPA ratepayers are being hit with an overcharge of many millions of dollars a year in contrast to what should be their share.

The bailout is based on a claim by Governor Cuomo supported by the State Public Service Commission that nuclear power plants don’t generate greenhouse or carbon gases and thus should receive “zero emissions credit”—an assertion the lawsuit strongly challenges. 

The lawsuit points to the full “nuclear cycle” or “nuclear chain”—including mining, milling, fuel enrichment—in which large amounts of greenhouse or carbon gasses are emitted and also emissions in the operation of the plants themselves, among them daily discharges into the air of methane and radioactive carbon. 

The claim that “nuclear power is carbon-free is preposterous,” says Mr. Judson. And to provide a bail-out on this basis “is a massive waste of ratepayer funds which should be going to renewable energy and energy efficiency.”

Susan Shapiro, an attorney for the plaintiffs, comments: “The $7.6 billion hand-out is based on the ludicrous claim that nuclear power is somehow good for the environment while ignoring the continuous radiation pollution and the continuous thermal emissions—as well as the release of various greenhouse gasses. Nuclear energy is the dirtiest form of energy and has no business being subdidized in a clean energy program. Moreover, with nuclear power getting a lion’s share of funding, the state is preventing renewables from rapidly developing.”

The true reason for the bailout is that the upstate nuclear power plants can’t make it in today’s energy market—they’re unable to compete. Indeed, just before the bailout there was a move to close one of the plants because it wasn’t viable economically.

In addition to the enormous lobbying power of Exelon, the biggest owner of nuclear power plants in the U.S., the other factor in promoting their continued operation are some politicians and business people in communities in which they are located. Indeed, says Mr. Thiele, the legislation he and other State Assembly members had been sponsoring to stop the deal received “no support” in the State Senate where senators from upstate constitute an important bloc.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Clearwater, NIRS, Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, Promoting Health and Sustainable Energy and Goshen Green Farms. The plants, all on Lake Ontario, are Ginna near Rochester and Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 and FitzPatrick in Scriba.

Meanwhile, the bailout in New York State has become a model for other states which have been developing their own nuclear power plant subsidy programs financed by ratepayers. These include Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Connecticut. Thus the deal “by spreading nationally will cut back the advance of safe, clean, renewable energy throughout the U.S.,” said Ms. Shapiro.

Although promoting the continued operation of the nuclear plants upstate, Mr. Cuomo has been working for the closure of the Indian Point nuclear plants 30 miles north of the New York City. Mr. Thiele describes the governor’s contradictory nuclear stance as “schizophrenic.”

“Long Islanders are no strangers to bad energy policies,” says Mr. Thiele of Sag Harbor citing the Shoreham nuclear plant debacle. “In excess of $6 billion were spent on the construction of Shoreham without ever considering whether or not there was a viable evacuation plan for Long Island’s three million people. There wasn’t. Shoreham never operated.” Now there’s “another energy disaster” happening, the $7.6 billion bailout “to keep open four aging and expensiv9+e upstate nuclear power plants. In a free market, without the subsidies, these plants would close because there are cheaper and safer source of energy available…Instead of propping up the failed policies of the past, we should instead be investing in a sustainable energy future…Make no mistake about it, this $7.6 billion subsidy is nothing more than a tax increase. It is one of the largest tax increases in recent history and it will be buried in your electric bill.”

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.  

16-Inch Trout Caught At Caleb Smith Catch And Release Jr Fishing Tournament

By Carole Paquette

Morning group winners [from left]: Ryan Green, Shelby Lloyd and Ayden ZebrowskiFifty-one young anglers and their families enjoyed the serenity and beauty of Willow Pond at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve at the recent Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve’s catch-and-release 16th annual Junior Fishing Tournament. Nearly three hundred fish, including a 16-inch trout, were caught by anglers ranging in age from five to twelve.

Winners of the morning session, for those ages five to eight, were: Ryan Green of Brentwood for the most fish caught: 17; Shelby Lloyd of Smithtown caught the largest pan fish: 10-1/4 inches; Ayden Zebrowski of Northport caught the largest “other”fish: a 14-1/2” trout.

Matthew Bonnell, Anthony DiBenedetto, and Jack DiBenedettoWinners in the afternoon session, for anglers ages nine through twelve, were: Anthony DiBenedetto of St. James, for the most fish caught: 22; Jack DiBenedetto of St. James caught the largest pan fish: 9-3/4 inches; and Matthew Bonnell of Smithtown caught the largest “other” fish: a 16-inch trout.

Another highlight of the event was the Tom Troccoli Memorial Lottery, involving the twenty-six registrants in the afternoon session.  The winner received a fishing rod and tackle box. The Troccoli family donated funds for the memorial letter, which will be continued for many years.

Winner of TomTroccoli Memorial lottery: Anthony Giambone with the late Tom Troccoli’s sons Dave [left] and Chris.The late Mr. Troccoli’s sons, Christopher and David, drew the name of angler Anthony Giambone of Centereach, as the first winner of the Troccoli Memorial award.

“Fishing was my father’s favorite hobby,” said Christopher Troccoli. “he especially loved teaching his grandsons. He started by teaching them to cast in his swimming pool. They got a real kick out of that. When we were young he would often take my brother and me fishing at Caleb Smith or Blydenburgh Parks.”  Chris Troccoli’s two sons, Joseph and Vincent, participated in the morning fishing session.

Tom Tokosh, chairman of the tournament, said he wished to thank Carmine Petrone, Huntington manager of Campsite Sports’ fishing department, who donated fishing poles for a raffle for the younger group of anglers; and The Fisherman magazine, which donated worms and tackle for the event.

- Anthony Giambone, 9, with his dad Will
Jackie Rodriguez, 11, of Inwood, catches a 7-inch blue gill
Lyla Esposito, 9, of Glen Head shows her catch, a 5-1/2 “ pan fish, to judge Carmine Petrone

-Ella Esposito 7 of Glen Head shows off her first catch to judge John Langan
Judge Peter Paquette measures one of the 17 fish that Ryan Green caught to win a prize for most fish caught Ryan Green, 6, concentrates on getting a worm on the hook.

Book Review - 'Madison Weatherbee'

Book Review – ‘Madison Weatherbee’

Author: Barbara Anne Kirshner – CreateSpace.com

Reviewed by Jeb Ladouceur

Some books are provocative, some informative, others are challenging … and a rare few prove downright charming. Barbara Anne Kirchner’s 107-page novel about a fictitious adventure undertaken by one of her three Dachshund dogs falls squarely (and delightfully) into the latter category. The book is titled ‘Madison Weatherbee’ … and it’s sub-titled ‘…The Different Dachshund.’

There. I told you it was charming!

Anyone who’s ever owned one of these long, little, four-legged clowns need not be reminded just how entertaining this particular breed of dog can be. Perhaps it will serve the reader to point out that in this country, as well as the United Kingdom, the ‘Dachsy’ is classified as a Scent Hound. This is so because the breed was developed to make maximum use of its particularly keen sense of smell in hunting and trailing animals. Another feature peculiar to the Dachshund (though not exclusively) is its terrier-like love for digging. Terrier aficionados frequently insist that the ‘sausage dog’ belongs in their favorite group … indeed, the little Dachshund does display the persistence which characterizes Terriers the world over.

At any rate, suffice it to say that with a determined ‘Dachsy’ in hot pursuit of some varmint, the critter doesn’t stand much of a chance at all.

Those characteristics, then, pretty much profile the star of Barbara Anne Kirshner’s mini-saga about a typical female Dachshund, but one that for a totally minor reason nobody wants … and who consequently gets into all kinds of difficulties while looking desperately for a loving home.

And what a laundry list of adventures our ‘Madison Weatherbee’ encounters on the way to what naturally is a predictable conclusion. There’s her maiden airplane ride … Madison’s first trip to New York’s Times Square … her initial visit to the Central Park Zoo … a debut appearance on the Broadway stage (my favorite episode) … and a whole host of experiences that only an inquisitive little ‘Dachsy’ could sniff out.

This is an endearing notion that animal advocate Barbara Kirshner has dreamed up. The idea smacks of the phenomenally successful ‘Home Alone’ motion picture, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if ‘Madison Weatherbee’ made her way to the big screen one day soon. I found the story immensely pleasing as Kirshner piled installments atop one another … making it inevitable that the reader fall head over heels in love with her intrepid little heroine.

You simply must meet ‘The Different Dachshund.’ And by all means, introduce her to the children in your family. They’re likely to reward you with one of those slurping kisses that the unmistakable ‘sausage doggies’ are famous for.

______________________________________________________________ 

Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of a dozen novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. His recent hit, THE GHOSTWRITERS, explores the bizarre relationship between the late Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Ladouceur’s newly completed thriller, THE SOUTHWICK INCIDENT, was introduced recently at the Smithtown Library. The book involves a radicalized Yale student and his CIA pursuers. Mr. Ladouceur’s revealing website is www.JebsBooks.com

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - TRANS FATS AND THE PROMOTION OF BAD STUFF

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Suffolk County government was early to move against trans fats.

In doing much writing on environmental issues—in this column, in magazines, in books I’ve authored, and on the Internet in recent years, as well as for nearly 30 years hosting a TV program “Enviro Closeup,” a central principle that’s become very clear to me is that virtually all polluting products and processes aren’t necessary. There are safe, clean alternatives.

Trans fats are a poster child for this. Bad actors like trans fats throw a monkey wrench into nature and impact on peoples’ health. They are promoted by those who profit from them. The lethal health impacts of trans fats are gargantuan.

As the World Health Organization declared last month in announcing a drive to eliminate trans fats around the globe, they lead to more than 500,000 deaths from heart disease each year. “It’s a crisis level, and it’s a major front in our fight now,” said the WHO’s director general.

In Suffolk, the use of trans fats in restaurants was banned in 2009. Legislator Lou D’Amaro of North Babylon sponsored the law. He stated it “fulfills the government’s obligation to do all it can to protect public health.”

The action by Suffolk followed trans fats bans by other governments in New York State including New York City (first to ban trans fats) and Nassau, Albany and Westchester Counties. Some of the bans, like the one in Suffolk, focused on restaurants. Some were broader, 

Action against trans fats has become a national movement. These days, food packages often display the statement: “No Trans Fats.” People have become aware of their dangers. 

Trans fats are produced when vegetable oil is pumped with hydrogen thus causing it to become solid at room temperature. They assist in extending the shelf life of cookies, cakes and frying oils. Some elements of the food industry, when Suffolk was moving on its ban, insisted that French fries would never be the same without trans fats. This was nonsense.

Trans fats alter the chemical composition of food increasing LDL or “bad” cholesterol and decreasing HDL or “good” cholesterol. Consumption of trans fats clogs arteries.

They aren’t needed. “Trans fats are a harmful product that can be removed easily without major cost and without any impact on the quality of foods,” says Dr. Francesca Branca, director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development.

TCTMD, a website of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, reports that in the decade since action against trans fats “there has been a significant decrease in hospitalizations for cardiovascular events in New York State.”  It quotes Dr. Eric Brandt of Yale University School of Medicine, who investigated this reduction, as saying “there are no known benefits” of trans fats and “experts who have done extensive research in the field recommended that complete avoidance may be necessary to avoid any of the associated harmful effects from them.”

In 2015 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally stepped in and revoked the “Generally Recognized as Safe” status of trans fats and ordered the banning of trans fats from all food in the U.S. as of June 18, 2018. Especially delighted was a then 100-year-old University of Illinois professor of comparative biosciences, Fred Kummerow, who had warned about the dangers of trans fats for nearly six decades. Dr. Kummerow, who sued the FDA in 2013 for not acting sooner, commented: “It’s very important that we don’t have this in our diet.”

 The New York Times in an editorial last month, “Making Trans Fats History,” applauded the WHO drive. Although “most of the American food industry stopped using artificial trans fats, a leading cause of heart disease and death globally…and few consumers noticed the change in their French fries or donuts…these fats are still commonly used in the Middle East, India, Pakistan and elsewhere. Beyond the United States, countries like Canada and Denmark have taken action against the use of trans fats, but lawmakers and regulators in other places haven’t—because they are unaware of the health risks or are reluctant to take on the food industry.”

I wrote a book, “The Poison Conspiracy,” about the promotion of toxic products by powerful interests and inaction or extremely delayed action by governments—and the abundant safe alternatives to these poisonous processes and products. 

This promotion involves self-interest, greed, and extends widely. I thought about this the other day reading an article headed “Hawaii Officials Encourage Visitors to Visit, Despite Volcano.” It reported: ‘Hawaii tourism officials are hoping Kilauea’s eruption won’t deter travelers from the state’s largest island, even as geologists warn the volcano could soon shoot boulders out of its summit.” Boosting tourism even if it means getting people to go to where a volcano is erupting, or getting them to eat trans fats and be subject to other dangerous products, or exposing people to toxic processes, this self-interest must be confronted.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.