Selling the NHS and buying drugs from US Pharma
The variety of assurances given by Johnson that the NHS will not be sold doesn’t really clarify whether the purchase of drugs from the massive US Pharmaceutical giants will be “on the table” in a possible trade deal. The Channel 4 Disclosures programme clearly demonstrated that the Americans expect to re-negotiate drug prices, and that meetings between UK and US trade negotiators have already happened.So when Conservative politicians say “The Prime Minister has said that the NHS is off the agenda” they are being disingenuous. This does not answer the question on whether drug pricing will be discussed as part of the wider trade negotiations. Fudging the replies conveniently gives the Tories room for manoeuvre. Buying pharmaceutics for the NHS as a whole is an efficient way of controlling prices. The NHS of course buys from many different countries and thousands of different items apart from pharmaceuticals. My own list of pills and potions and medical aids (I’ve been a Type 1 Diabetic for over 50 years) includes supplies from Denmark, France, Ireland, Germany and the UK, although the majority come from abroad. Politicians need to answer the question “Will drug pricing between US Pharma and the NHS be part of a future trade deal.” Not “Will the NHS be sold”. We can then get on with examining the separate issue of privatisation of our NHS.Nick
Nicholas Evans ● 2567d0 Comments