On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) argued that imposing government price controls on prescription drugs will lead to shortages and this is what happens in Europe.
Paul said, [relevant remarks begin around 5:25] “The thing is, is if you want prices to be low and you say the government should just make them fair or low, Venezuela’s got a great example of this, and there they’ve had price controls on everything. But you know what? They don’t have anything. Price controls lead to shortages. And so, in the European countries that have price controls, they’re lower because the government mandates that the price can’t be the market price. And so, they do get a better deal, but they do it by force and by mandate. But what you end up having is a regulated market. So, if you want the fat shot, you’ve got to go to the government doctor. You may get it, you may not get it, but you don’t go and just get the medicine you want if a doctor will prescribe it, you have to get permission from the government. They’ll make you take the cheaper variety for a couple of years. If you need a heart surgery, you may be dead by the time you get it. That’s the European system, that’s socialism, and I want no part of it. I don’t like high prices, but I think there are ways to bring prices down.”
He continued, “What I’ve suggested, and Donald Trump agreed with me in the last administration, is something called associated health plans, where you join like Costco or Sam’s Club, and 44 million members then get someone to negotiate for them and they bring prices down that way. That’s the market doing it. If you do it by government fiat, you’ll end up with shortages. And I don’t want to be Venezuela.”
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