Thread by @ASlavitt

COVID Update March 7: The US response has prized one thing above all others.

Human lives.

Just kidding. I mean profits.

1/

With 200,000 excess deaths in just over 4 months, I would expect our political leaders & health care system to have the most obvious of rallying cries.

It is what they are there for.

But while the doctors, nurses & staffs perform heroic acts, money is the name of the game.2/

In the first Congressional package, Congress allocated money to vaccine research & then came back with billions more. Some wanted a clause promising fair pricing of a vaccine.

Pharma, in a position of power, decided to fight the bill until that clause was taken out. It was. 3/

Moderna who is currently testing a Phase 3 shares are up 300% as they put out press releases touting their vaccine.

Despite $500 million in government funding, Moderna announced their low price would be $32-$37. Flu vaccines are $16 to $25.

But there’s nothing to stop them. 4/

https://twitter.com/aslavitt/status/1291773795821408258

Meanwhile the CEO of Moderna on the heels of press releases sold 72,000 shares last month generating $5 million for him. Of course they don’t have a working vaccine yet.

Meanwhile England’s Oxford vaccine is being developed without a profit.
5/

Gilead’s Remdesivir is being sold for $5700 to private insurers even after the government bought 500,000 units.

But isn’t it worth it? What value do you place on a human life?

Answer: as high as you can get away with. 6/

Gilead is also using a special designation for diseases that affect <200,000 people at the time of application to get: a special tax credit AND exclusivity.

They had to file in March while there were still few cases so they could get the $40 million additional benefit. 7/

The drug is proving marginally effective but is far from a blockbuster but they are winning big.

They describe the pricing as humanitarian. Way to go Gilead. 8/

Who is in a better mood than drug companies? Insurance companies.

The drug companies have great scientists at work. Insurance companies are making massive amounts for doing ... nothing. 9/

Health care use has declined 30-40%. Anthem & United doubled their profits in 3 months. A few billion more each. Another billion more for Aetna’s parent company.

People paying for care and not using it is great business. 10/

nytimes.com/2020/08/05/hea…

Thanks to the ACA some of this excess profit will need to be returned to people who paid the premiums but not for a couple years.

Meanwhile insurance companies are warning they need to INCREASE premiums for next year because costs could spike back. 11/

You know those tests we use. The ones we get back 8-10 days later and are only 80% accurate?

Their prices doubled from $50 to $100. And part of the reason for the backlog is there’s no requirement and therefore labs don’t want to invest in equipment they might not need. 12/

There’s a lot of money to be made in masks too. I mean nurses need them badly so I bet they would pay a lot.

Small businesses, college students & others joined the PPE free for all as the Trump Admin eases regulations.

$2 masks began selling for $5.
13/

Meanwhile South Korea set a price at $.23 and bought masks for all its citizens, capping profits at pennies/mask.

We may have had 200,000 excess deaths to their 303. But how do Toh make a buck in South Korea? 14/

We believe people won’t do anything unless they get paid. That’s the “market.” Meanwhile, in South Korea and the UK and around the world, human life plus government support seemed to be enough.
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This is to say nothing of our errors.

$19 billion to 5100 vendors $130M never made its way anywhere. 16/

Some of this is what happens in an emergency. Some happens because of the way our health care system is paved. Some is the recognition that the pandemic is opportunity. 17/

Meanwhile the Paycheck protection act to support small businesses keep people employed is do to expire Saturday.
Unemployment insurance expired a week ago.
Food programs are unfounded.
Eviction moratoria are over.

McConnell believes more support isn’t urgent.18/

Meanwhile, McConnell does believe in something. He’s adamant that businesses receive liability protection as part of letting people back to work so they don’t get sued. 19/

The spirit of America has gone haywire. The idea of helping first & asking questions later is rarer & rarer.

We’ve created a system that says “we’ll help but, but first what’s in it for me?” 20/

Ask why is the stock market going up with many Americans going to bed worried about getting sick, losing a job, losing our savings or a house.

Formula: Low tax rates, no regulations, fewer employees, and a key to the treasury.

Why is this the American way? 21/

21/

That last tweet was the last tweet.

It should have said /end.

Have a great weekend. Andy