The Patriot Post® · Good News on Cancer, Bad Prescription From Dems

The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently announced some good news on cancer death rates in America — they’re down and have been steadily dropping for years. Since 1991, deaths from cancer have decreased by 27%, which amounts to 2.6 million fewer Americans dying of cancer. What has contributed to this significant and welcome decrease? According to Rebecca Siegal, lead researcher and scientific director of surveillance research at the ACS, “The decline in deaths is largely driven by reductions in smoking and improved treatment, as well as earlier detection for some cancers.” Those earlier detections include common cancers such as breast, colon, lung, and prostate.

Another positive development to note is the impact the GOP tax cuts have had on American drug companies. The Wall Street Journal writes, “Recall how U.S. drug makers a few years ago sought to exploit lower rates abroad with corporate inversions. The GOP corporate tax reform, which cut the U.S. rate to 21% from 35% and allowed businesses to repatriate overseas profits tax-free, has given U.S. drug makers more cash to invest. Now they’re acquiring companies to advance innovation rather than engage in tax arbitrage as they did pre-reform.” Allowing drug companies to keep more of their earnings has freed them to invest more capital into drug research and development within the U.S., which in turn is creating better and broader cancer-treatment options for all Americans. Despite the documented flaws of pharmaceutical companies, this is prime example of how capitalism trumps socialism in meeting the needs of a nation across a vast spectrum of individuals.

America’s health care system certainly has its problems, but it’s still the best in the world.

Meanwhile, House Democrats are continuing in their march for a government takeover of the American health care industry. As Investor’s Business Daily reports, “Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed on hearings for ‘Medicare for all,’ which would effectively outlaw all private insurance in favor of a single, government-run plan.” IBD further notes, “The cost to taxpayers for all this ‘free’ health care? More than $32 trillion in the first decade — which is a lowball estimate. … There is no country on earth that has gone this far. Even so-called socialist countries typically rely to some extent on private insurance and out-of-pocket spending to cover a share of the health costs.”

So while there is good news for Americans on new drug developments and the decreasing number of deaths due to cancer, Democrats seem determined to disrupt this progress by insisting on a government-controlled single-payer socialist system that has proven to fail everywhere it has been implemented.