It's called "pay for delay" and if you haven't heard of it, that's because they do everything they can to keep these deals as quiet as possible. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission sued one drug company to block a deal it made with three generic manufacturers to keep cheaper alternatives off the market.
And now, the FTC is trying to get these deals banned outright, saying they cost consumers $3.5 billion per year. It's only 15 years too late.
This is money that's coming right out of our pockets, one way or another.
It costs insurers money when they have to spring for brand-name drugs instead of generics. And anyone who has insurance pays for it in the form of higher copays and higher premiums.
It costs the government money, because the feds pay a full third of all prescription drug costs. Killing these shady back-room deals would save the government $1.2 billion dollars. That's also money that comes from us, the taxpayers.
And of course it costs the millions of uninsured consumers when they have to reach into their own pockets to shell out extra money to pay for a brand-name drug because the generic manufacturer sold out to Big Pharma.
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