THREAD: Let me tell you a story of repeated and deliberate public policy decisions that will result in Americans getting fleeced on the price of a drug during a lethal pandemic. Come, gather 'round children... (1/x)

25 yrs ago the Clinton administration rescinded a rule that required drug companies to charge Americans reasonable prices for medicines developed at government expense. (2/x) https://sirota.substack.com/p/gilead-is-profiteering-off-a-covid

Some progressive lawmakers tried to reinstate the reasonable pricing rule, but Republican and Democratic lawmakers joined together to block them. (3/x) https://sirota.substack.com/p/gilead-is-profiteering-off-a-covid

In the ensuing years, the Obama administration refused Democratic lawmakers’ demand to invoke existing federal laws to force down the price of critical medicines. (4/x) https://sirota.substack.com/p/gilead-is-profiteering-off-a-covid

Meanwhile, the GOP blocked Democratic legislation to allow Medicare to use its bulk purchasing power to negotiate lower prices for medicines. (5/x) https://sirota.substack.com/p/gilead-is-profiteering-off-a-covid

The result of all of these policy decisions: yesterday, Gilead announced it will be charging Americans $3,000 for a COVID medicine that costs $10 to manufacture and that was developed with money from the American government. (6/6) https://sirota.substack.com/p/gilead-is-profiteering-off-a-covid