Thread by @JustTreatment

"People are dying."

Elizabeth has witnessed the difference between the UK and US health systems. She knows the human cost of high prices. Don’t allow the US to sabotage access to meds on the #NHS.

EPIC THREAD!!!...

There has been a lot of debate on the impact of a #tradedeal with #Trump on #NHS medicine prices. Here’s a thread detailing why people are right to be worried… 1/

Firstly, the US has history. #Bigpharma spends more influencing politicians in Washington than any other industry. So the US has repeatedly used #trade agreements to force changes on countries that will boost the industry’s profits. 2/

Because of the power of big #pharma there are no controls on #medicine prices in the US. As a result they spend far more on drugs than any other country. Making other countries pay more is a big priority for #Trump. 3/

#US trade negotiators think that the UK does not pay enough for #medicines. The leaked #tradedeal documents noted "there is a lot of conversation on drug prices and looking at what other countries pay [...] There are worries that the US is not getting a good deal". 4/

If the #US force the UK to remove our price controls in order to get a #tradedeal our #medicines bill would skyrocket. If we paid US prices for ALL #drugs, it would cost the #NHS £500m every week. 5/

We have lots of things we have in place to protect the #NHS from predatory pricing by #bigpharma which the US could attack. And big #pharma's published their list of objectives targets these protections. 6/
phrma.org/en/Policy-Pape…

For example - the #NHS only pays for medicines that are cost effective. NICE is an independent body that makes that judgement. Unless #pharma charge a fair price they don’t get to sell their medicines to the NHS. 7/

#US tactics to undermine @NICEComms could include changes that mean:

- #Pharma get to sit at the table when their drugs are being assessed
- Pharma get to appeal NICE rulings
- NICE rulings become advisory rather than binding

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- NICE is forced to say yes to more expensive #medicines
- NICE must change their criteria so it’s easier for expensive meds to get approved 9/

Some of this might sound like good news for #patients who are frustrated by NICE decisions to reject #medicines. But you don’t solve the problem of high drug prices by paying even more. 10/

Ultimately more money will go into #pharma’s back pocket and the #NHS overall will suffer - when its budget is already under unprecedented pressure. 11/

The #pharma industry sees #Brexit as an opportunity.
This @PhRMA rep claims the UK is “failing to appropriately recognise the value of innovation in it’s pricing” systems. They want “full market access for US products”.
This is code for making us pay more

https://twitter.com/faisalislam/status/1201861148926205952

Other US goals in the negotiations are:
- Stopping the #NHS negotiating as a single entity so we lose bargaining power
- Changing monopoly protections so drug prices stay higher for longer (technically known as SPCs and marketing and data exclusivity)
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- Enabling drug companies to sue the #NHS through #ISDS (a special unaccountable #corporate court system) making it more difficult to put #publichealth before #pharma profits 14/

Crucially - if the US succeeds - the #NHS will be weakened in its ability to reject unjustified high prices from all drug companies - not just American ones. The price we pay for French, Japanese and Swiss medicines will go up at the same time as the price of US meds. 15/

The prices the #NHS has to pay for medicines would increase. And we’d have to deal with the consequences: direct more of the NHS budget into the pockets of the world’s most profitable industry, or more strictly ration #access2meds for NHS #patients. 16/

The UK government has said the NHS and drug prices are not on the table. But that’s not what trade experts are saying. 17/

https://twitter.com/KayBurley/status/1199961284504170497?s=20

It’s not what the former #Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt said in June before this became controversial. He was Foreign Secretary during the secret talks with the US. He ruled out ‘selling the #NHS’ but explicitly ruled in #pharmaceuticals. 18/

The current Foreign Secretary @dominicraab has admitted that drug prices COULD increase under a US-UK #tradedeal. 19/

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

And when asked if #healthcare would be on the table in a US-UK #tradedeal, the US Ambassador to the UK replied “I would think so”. 20/

#NHS #NHSNotforSale

In reality, negotiations on #drug pricing are at an advanced stage. 21/

Even if it's on the table, some commentators with little experience of #trade policy claim the UK could just say no. But negotiations require compromise & if the US demands these changes the pressure to accept them or lose a deal will be very high. 22/

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1199653834722861056

And there's no sign in the leaked docs of the UK saying explicitly that the #NHS or any related point like drug pricing are not up for discussion. Indeed, the #government had the chance to protect the NHS in parliament but refused to do so. 23/
keepournhspublic.com/conservatives-…

This expert says that if the #British #government wants to make sure drug prices are excluded from a #tradedeal, they have two ways to ensure this.

🔎And they must make the trade talks FULLY TRANSPARENT.🔍 24/

theconversation.com/how-to-protect…

#Drug companies will hold patients’ lives to ransom to get the highest prices they can. In #America, 1/4 #diabetes patients ration #insulin because of the extraordinary price-tag. 25/

bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-…

People are literally dying while #pharma companies line their pockets.

We cannot be complacent about this threat to our health.

Demand your politicians protect the #NHS, the prices it pays for medicines, and all public services from a damaging Trump trade deal.