Now here‘s an interesting bit of legislation.
The Problem: The cost of providing Medicaid is growing
The Solution: Impose a fee on drug stores for every non-Medicaid perscription they fill, to help subsidize the cost of Medicate perscriptions.
The Catch: Drug stores can’t pass this cost along to the consumers.
Most pharmacies immediately added the charge onto customers’ bills, sparking citizen outrage that quickly made its way to the ears of legislators. Lawmakers lashed out at the pharmacies, arguing that they had never intended to tax citizens.
What the hell is that all about? Where the hell did the lawmakers expect the money to come from? Where do the drug stores get their money from? Do lawmakers have even a fundamental understanding of economics before dishing out policy?
Of course it’s clear what they intended. They decide the state needs money, and are simply going to take it away from businesses. The difference between a law like this and outright stealing isn’t clear to me. The profit margins of a business are no longer up to them – they’re up to the state. Hey, imagine if a drug store (in competing with other stores) offered a product with only a $1 markup. This rule would mean that such a store would be required to lose money on every sale. Of course, it’s not like we actually have a free market in medicine anyhow, so the odds of us getting drugs at reasonable prices are fairly slim to begin with (which is what caused this problem in the first place – thanks Uncle Sam).