>>You cannot be serious...can you? That's not even a good attempt at spin. PMPRB is a governmental agency determining the maximum allowable price for patented drugs to be sold in Canada. On what planet is that not price fixing?
>>
>>Here's an example from today's news : http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=205120&Itemid=33
>>The Board issued a Notice of Hearing pertaining to allegations of Board Staff that Concerta had been, and was being, sold by Janssen-Ortho Inc. at prices exceeding those indicated by the Board's Excessive Price Guidelines. On April 3, 2009, the Hearing Panel received a Voluntary Compliance Undertaking ("VCU") which proposed to resolve the issues raised in the Notice of Hearing.
>>
>>The VCU requires, among other things, that Janssen-Ortho offset excess revenues in the amount of $1,464,441.58 by making a payment to the Government of Canada. By Order of the Board, the proceeding into the price of Concerta is hereby concluded.
>
>OK, let's agree to call this a price fixing if you want. Given that, I'm still in favor of the governmental agency. I refuse to be taken in hostage by drug companies in the case that I desperatly need a given drug to survive.

What if the governmental agency is the one taking you hostage.
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Arthritis-Consumer-Experts-980591.html

That being said, I return to my premise. What do you think will happen if America adopts the same system and the drug companies suddenly find themselves without the American market to recover R&D costs?

>>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300939,00.html
>
>I never said that our system is perfect.

No system is perfect and that's beside the point. My questions are based what I see as obvious consequences of the US adopting a universal plan and whether or not Canadians as the nearest neighbor with an established universal plan in place are ready for them.

>This is a case where improvment can/must be made. The bottom line is that thoses mothers and babies are alive and healthy today. Inconvenient? Yes. Life-threatening? Hardly.

Some were life threatening. There are other examples involving surgery and cancer which can be easily googled.