Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, pharmaceuticals, as we all know, are quite pricey in
our country. And talking a little bit more about this
and what's happening with the drug makers, asking how the
Trump administration and government to pause the drug price negotiations
that are underway. Doctor Brian Artist is here, a healthcare
whistle blow and also the author of the best selling
book Moving Beyond the COVID nineteen lines.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Doctor. Welcome in, Thanks for being here.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
That's great to be here. How were you.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I'm doing good. So you know, there was a period
of time where it wasn't the Biden.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Administration looking at cutting prices, you know, drugs used by Medicare,
And sometime I get this year or next year, I
can't remember which year it was. But what's going on
here in our pharmaceutical world and what is Trump doing
about it?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
What was Biden doing about it?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And where's this pause coming from?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
And why this is exciting? You've been paying attention. Oh,
it is true, it is true. These are negotiations only
for lowering prices for Medicare participants, so those individuals who
carry a Medicare policy, senior citizens in America. The government,
particularly Joe Biden's administration, through his Inflation Reduction Act, He's
(01:15):
already reduced the overall cost of Medicare age patients for
about ten different prescription drugs that are commonly prescribed successfully now.
As he left office, he gave Trump a list of
fifteen drugs, and the top of that list is ozepic
and wagovi, which are called GLP one drugs that he
(01:35):
wants Trump to now carry the torch to start negotiations
to lower the price for Medicare age patients in America
to pay for these fifteen new prescription medications.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Okay, this sounds lovely.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I feel like I'm being lured into a big, nice party,
and right behind me, I don't see the devil behind
me at the door with a knife towards my back,
and I'm about to walk into what I think is
a beautiful party, and I'm about to get killed.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
What's the catch here, Yeah, here's the catch, everybody. What
you don't know is everybody in America, all the citizens
in American, this great land of the Free and home
of the brave, You're actually living in the land of
the most screwed in prices for these fifteen medications. So
let me give you a highlight here o Zepic and
(02:20):
Wagovie are top of the list of these fifteen drugs
that are expected to have negotiations for lowering prices for
medicary age patients. Did you know that in China, France,
South Africa and the Philippines that the cost monthly for
the exact same drugs called ozimpic mcgovie sold to their
citizens is seventy five cents a month and at the
(02:43):
highest seventy two dollars a month. What do you know
what Americans are charged on average for the same drug?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
I do.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
My wife is doing monjarno and that's another type of
one of these drugs, and if it weren't for insurance,
I think the cost is over thousand.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Dollars a month.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
The average cost to every American per month is nine
hundred and sixty eight dollars unreal now in comparison, in comparison,
just for perspective, that means those other countries, when they're
selling the same drug to their citizens, when it comes
to American sales and prices, that is a one hundred
and twenty nine thousand percent profit difference selling it to
(03:27):
Americans than selling it to French and South African and
Chinese citizens.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Well, of course they want to stop the price and
negotiations going on here. So what are we going to
do about this? What is Donald Trump going to do
about this? And let's back up a second. Why are
are are we being so screwed in this country? You
know with these drug manufacturers when we know globally and
(03:54):
they know we know globally, they're not doing it.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
So why do we even allow this?
Speaker 3 (04:00):
This is ridiculous. In fact, it breaks every rule that
was established in eighteen ninety under the Sherman Antitrust Monopoly
Act when they determined that they weren't going to allow
any companies to monopolize a trade or a product. What's
incredible is that in the United States there is only
one company called Eli Lilly that oversees ninety percent of
(04:23):
the entire market of drugs sold to Americans in the
diabetes category insulin and GLP one drugs. How is it
possible they managed to oversee and control ninety percent of
all diabetes drugs in America when there is almost one
hundred million pre diabetics and diabetics diagnosed in this country.
(04:45):
That's a third of our citizens are challenged with diabetes.
How can we allow one company to oversee the entire
insulin industry in America and the ninety percent of all
GLP one drugs manufactured, including the ones your wife state.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
I mean, you're the healthcare wistle blower and the doctor.
You tell me how they get away with this? What's happening?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:07):
The number one way they get away with this is
with the industry lobbying groups, including the Pharmaceutical Management Group
right now, that oversees what are called pharmacy benefit managers.
Did you know that not only did the pharmaceutical companies
outprice us in America more than any other country they
sell drugs to, did you know the health insurance companies
(05:28):
that we're paying premiums and deductibles for in America that
you're trusting to cover your cost of your medications. Did
you know they actually have middleman companies that they hire
and own, called pharmacy benefit managers, that literally negotiate low
prices of drug manufacturers products called medicines, and after they
(05:48):
buy them the health insurance companies, after they buy these
drugs at lower prices, these middlemen jack up the price
that then they sell the same cheap drugs to your pharmacy.
They pocket the differences for the health insurance companies, leaving
you paying exorbitant fees beyond your copays, your deductibles. And
that needs to be an entire reform on the health
(06:09):
insurance companies. And somebody needs to challenge the sherman acts.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Well, here's the deal. You said it.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Follow the money, all right, So these lobbyists, you know,
they got gobs of money and they're making it happen,
and pharmacy executives have big money. These companies are running
monopolies here. So as far as the Trump administration is concerned,
what are you hearing? Maybe the plans to fix this
and write the ship on this.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
This is very good. This is where the challenging debates
about RFK Junior being selected as the deputy Chief or
chairperson of the HHS, the Health and Human Services Department.
They oversee the FDA, NIHCDC and each of these actual agencies,
including particularly the FDA. If we can get him to
(07:00):
actually address the lobbying money being paid in the bribes
being given to those individuals at the FDA, we could
possibly reduce these absorbent, massively profitable charges of individual medications
that are life saving and required for many people in America.
We cannot rely on the government to do that for us. Now.
(07:21):
It's really time that we improve our own health and
take measures to improve our health.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I mean, we see the work that's being done now
to clean up everything going on with the United States
Agency for International Development us AID, the wasteful spending that's
going on there. I mean, we're just peeling back the
first layer of this twenty five probably layer onion of
stink that is happening in our country when it comes
(07:46):
to the money. So are you optimistic that rfk Junior
or if he doesn't come through, I think he will.
We'll get this done under the Trump administration, get this
thing righted up in and going in the right direction.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
I think this runaway of four years is an incredible
opportunity for a lot of new cabinet positions to be assigned,
health advisors being put in place, and positions to support
the Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Junior, who's big given the
mandate by Donald Trump to help make America healthier again.
And one of the ways you're going to have to
do that is to reduce this overall expense on healthcare
(08:26):
in America, we actually ranked forty second out of the
forty six industrialized nations and healthcare outcomes for our citizens,
we're almost dead last, but we spend more than double
the highest, second highest country in the world and healthcare expenses.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Look, you said, it's the lobbyist. It's the money, and
it's like buying, you know, you know, buying. You got money,
you buy it and you get it done. You look
at you know, Beyonce in that whole crew. I mean,
you got enough money you can make or break things.
You want to buy a sporting event, you know, you
swing a game, you pay off, you know. So I
(09:04):
think we got to take a look at the lobbyists
and get the money and the bribery under control and
out of the way.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
You know, I get it.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
You gotta have advocates to go push your point. But
my gosh, they've got too much power going.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
On right now. That's a juggernaut. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
The first thing I would do quickly to try to
change it.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
First, the United States of America and New Zealand are
the only two countries in the entire world that allow
drug companies to market their products to their citizens through
commercials and propaganda. So I would first challenge that we
stop allowing drug makers to spend so much absorbient money
(09:44):
on marketing ads and commercials that would buy itself reduce
the overall needed monies required by these drug companies to
float their marketing efforts.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Number One, you're gonna put thousands of actors that dance
around into songs, you know, plushing these drugs out of work.
I guess I'll have to go back and get a
real job somewhere. Yeah, I'm with you, I'm with you.
I'm that doctor. I appreciate you. I'm going to have
you back on this. We need to follow this for
quite some time and see how it goes. Doctor Brian
Artist once again
Well, pharmaceuticals, as we all know, are quite pricey in
our country. And talking a little bit more about this
and what's happening with the drug makers, asking how the
Trump administration and government to pause the drug price negotiations
that are underway. Doctor Brian Artist is here, a healthcare
whistle blow and also the author of the best selling
book Moving Beyond the COVID nineteen lines.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Doctor. Welcome in, Thanks for being here.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
That's great to be here. How were you.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I'm doing good. So you know, there was a period
of time where it wasn't the Biden.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Administration looking at cutting prices, you know, drugs used by Medicare,
And sometime I get this year or next year, I
can't remember which year it was. But what's going on
here in our pharmaceutical world and what is Trump doing
about it?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
What was Biden doing about it?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And where's this pause coming from?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
And why this is exciting? You've been paying attention. Oh,
it is true, it is true. These are negotiations only
for lowering prices for Medicare participants, so those individuals who
carry a Medicare policy, senior citizens in America. The government,
particularly Joe Biden's administration, through his Inflation Reduction Act, He's
(01:15):
already reduced the overall cost of Medicare age patients for
about ten different prescription drugs that are commonly prescribed successfully now.
As he left office, he gave Trump a list of
fifteen drugs, and the top of that list is ozepic
and wagovi, which are called GLP one drugs that he
(01:35):
wants Trump to now carry the torch to start negotiations
to lower the price for Medicare age patients in America
to pay for these fifteen new prescription medications.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Okay, this sounds lovely.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I feel like I'm being lured into a big, nice party,
and right behind me, I don't see the devil behind
me at the door with a knife towards my back,
and I'm about to walk into what I think is
a beautiful party, and I'm about to get killed.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
What's the catch here, Yeah, here's the catch, everybody. What
you don't know is everybody in America, all the citizens
in American, this great land of the Free and home
of the brave, You're actually living in the land of
the most screwed in prices for these fifteen medications. So
let me give you a highlight here o Zepic and
(02:20):
Wagovie are top of the list of these fifteen drugs
that are expected to have negotiations for lowering prices for
medicary age patients. Did you know that in China, France,
South Africa and the Philippines that the cost monthly for
the exact same drugs called ozimpic mcgovie sold to their
citizens is seventy five cents a month and at the
(02:43):
highest seventy two dollars a month. What do you know
what Americans are charged on average for the same drug?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
I do.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
My wife is doing monjarno and that's another type of
one of these drugs, and if it weren't for insurance,
I think the cost is over thousand.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Dollars a month.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
The average cost to every American per month is nine
hundred and sixty eight dollars unreal now in comparison, in comparison,
just for perspective, that means those other countries, when they're
selling the same drug to their citizens, when it comes
to American sales and prices, that is a one hundred
and twenty nine thousand percent profit difference selling it to
(03:27):
Americans than selling it to French and South African and
Chinese citizens.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Well, of course they want to stop the price and
negotiations going on here. So what are we going to
do about this? What is Donald Trump going to do
about this? And let's back up a second. Why are
are are we being so screwed in this country? You
know with these drug manufacturers when we know globally and
(03:54):
they know we know globally, they're not doing it.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
So why do we even allow this?
Speaker 3 (04:00):
This is ridiculous. In fact, it breaks every rule that
was established in eighteen ninety under the Sherman Antitrust Monopoly
Act when they determined that they weren't going to allow
any companies to monopolize a trade or a product. What's
incredible is that in the United States there is only
one company called Eli Lilly that oversees ninety percent of
(04:23):
the entire market of drugs sold to Americans in the
diabetes category insulin and GLP one drugs. How is it
possible they managed to oversee and control ninety percent of
all diabetes drugs in America when there is almost one
hundred million pre diabetics and diabetics diagnosed in this country.
(04:45):
That's a third of our citizens are challenged with diabetes.
How can we allow one company to oversee the entire
insulin industry in America and the ninety percent of all
GLP one drugs manufactured, including the ones your wife state.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
I mean, you're the healthcare wistle blower and the doctor.
You tell me how they get away with this? What's happening?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:07):
The number one way they get away with this is
with the industry lobbying groups, including the Pharmaceutical Management Group
right now, that oversees what are called pharmacy benefit managers.
Did you know that not only did the pharmaceutical companies
outprice us in America more than any other country they
sell drugs to, did you know the health insurance companies
(05:28):
that we're paying premiums and deductibles for in America that
you're trusting to cover your cost of your medications. Did
you know they actually have middleman companies that they hire
and own, called pharmacy benefit managers, that literally negotiate low
prices of drug manufacturers products called medicines, and after they
(05:48):
buy them the health insurance companies, after they buy these
drugs at lower prices, these middlemen jack up the price
that then they sell the same cheap drugs to your pharmacy.
They pocket the differences for the health insurance companies, leaving
you paying exorbitant fees beyond your copays, your deductibles. And
that needs to be an entire reform on the health
(06:09):
insurance companies. And somebody needs to challenge the sherman acts.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Well, here's the deal. You said it.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Follow the money, all right, So these lobbyists, you know,
they got gobs of money and they're making it happen,
and pharmacy executives have big money. These companies are running
monopolies here. So as far as the Trump administration is concerned,
what are you hearing? Maybe the plans to fix this
and write the ship on this.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
This is very good. This is where the challenging debates
about RFK Junior being selected as the deputy Chief or
chairperson of the HHS, the Health and Human Services Department.
They oversee the FDA, NIHCDC and each of these actual agencies,
including particularly the FDA. If we can get him to
(07:00):
actually address the lobbying money being paid in the bribes
being given to those individuals at the FDA, we could
possibly reduce these absorbent, massively profitable charges of individual medications
that are life saving and required for many people in America.
We cannot rely on the government to do that for us. Now.
(07:21):
It's really time that we improve our own health and
take measures to improve our health.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I mean, we see the work that's being done now
to clean up everything going on with the United States
Agency for International Development us AID, the wasteful spending that's
going on there. I mean, we're just peeling back the
first layer of this twenty five probably layer onion of
stink that is happening in our country when it comes
(07:46):
to the money. So are you optimistic that rfk Junior
or if he doesn't come through, I think he will.
We'll get this done under the Trump administration, get this
thing righted up in and going in the right direction.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
I think this runaway of four years is an incredible
opportunity for a lot of new cabinet positions to be assigned,
health advisors being put in place, and positions to support
the Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Junior, who's big given the
mandate by Donald Trump to help make America healthier again.
And one of the ways you're going to have to
do that is to reduce this overall expense on healthcare
(08:26):
in America, we actually ranked forty second out of the
forty six industrialized nations and healthcare outcomes for our citizens,
we're almost dead last, but we spend more than double
the highest, second highest country in the world and healthcare expenses.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Look, you said, it's the lobbyist. It's the money, and
it's like buying, you know, you know, buying. You got money,
you buy it and you get it done. You look
at you know, Beyonce in that whole crew. I mean,
you got enough money you can make or break things.
You want to buy a sporting event, you know, you
swing a game, you pay off, you know. So I
(09:04):
think we got to take a look at the lobbyists
and get the money and the bribery under control and
out of the way.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
You know, I get it.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
You gotta have advocates to go push your point. But
my gosh, they've got too much power going.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
On right now. That's a juggernaut. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
The first thing I would do quickly to try to
change it.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
First, the United States of America and New Zealand are
the only two countries in the entire world that allow
drug companies to market their products to their citizens through
commercials and propaganda. So I would first challenge that we
stop allowing drug makers to spend so much absorbient money
(09:44):
on marketing ads and commercials that would buy itself reduce
the overall needed monies required by these drug companies to
float their marketing efforts.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Number One, you're gonna put thousands of actors that dance
around into songs, you know, plushing these drugs out of work.
I guess I'll have to go back and get a
real job somewhere. Yeah, I'm with you, I'm with you.
I'm that doctor. I appreciate you. I'm going to have
you back on this. We need to follow this for
quite some time and see how it goes. Doctor Brian
Artist once again
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