Wk 1, HCS 430: DR 2

 Must be a substantive response. Please further discussion.

APA format

175 word minimum

Must include at least 2 references

Respond to the following:

Lancelot James

2:18 PM

Regulation is essential to our health care industry because as physicians and patients engage with each other. Today, federal, state, and even local legislative bodies and regulatory agencies establish rules intended to protect the public, promote access to care, and ensure that medical professionals both adhere to high standards and receive the compensation that is their due.

Big Pharma has a major influence on healthcare laws and regulations because Lobbying allows special interest groups to control the way laws are shaped and how healthcare policies are both created and enforced.

Pharmaceutical companies are some of the richest, most profitable companies in the world. Besides using profits to advertise products and influence prescription-writing target markets, Pharma spends extraordinary amounts of money on patents to protect their profit margins. Some cancer treatments can cost 600 times more in the U.S. than in other countries — and this form of price gouging remains legal in the U.S.1 Unfortunately for consumers, the game is rigged in Pharma's favor, as they buy this privilege by lobbying government representatives.

The pharmaceutical industry's lobbying expenditures have been increasing every year and hit an all-time high of $273 million in 2009. Monies are used successfully to influence lawmakers and politicians and shape pending legislature.

Powell, L. (2016).  The Danger of Big Pharma. https://www.focusforhealth.org/big-pharma-silent-hold-us-government/