Just when I thought our elected representatives had reached the apex of moronic ideas.
Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) want to tax opioid medicines–needed by very ill and disabled patients to treat severe pain–to pay for addiction treatment programs. From the Portland Herald Press story:
Sens. Angus King of Maine and Joe Manchin of West Virginia proposed a bill Tuesday that would impose a fee on prescription opioids as a way to pay for substance abuse treatment, housing, employment services and other programs that would alleviate the country’s epidemic…
“The obvious way to fund this is to build it into the price of the drug,” said King, comparing it to how the cost of seat belts and air bags are factored into the price of a vehicle. “The cost of the drug should reflect the danger of the drug.”
King said the fee would vary depending on dose and type of drug, but would roughly range between 75 cents to $3 per 30-day prescription.
Isn’t this just typical of our political leadership these days? Make medicine more expensive for those who need it–or for insurance companies that fund the treatment–to pay for the care of people who abuse those medicines.
And don’t think it would end there. Once the government finds a new way to tax us, it becomes a one-way elevator going up.