that RMC lives in constant fear of, than anything like a genuinely free market. 

In fact, AHCIO lobbyists have bought and paid for a enough members of Congress to prevent the government administrators of Medicare and Medicaid from using their bulk purchasing power to collectively bargain with Big Pharma, in particular, on a level playing field.  

Why?  So our so-called "American" drug makers can compel Americans to pay the highest drug prices in the world, resulting in excess profits that Big Pharma then uses to offset lower profits in Europe--where governments DO have more equal bargaining power.  

Americans as taxpayers also subsidize AHCIO profits in other ways, e.g. by funding basic research and development of new drugs, which are then commercialized by Big Pharma--which privatizes all of the profits while taxpayers subsidize the risk and cost of new drug R&D.  Private profit--rather than public need--also determines what drugs are developed using public money--con't below