Episode #11: The great American drug shortage isn't an accident, it's artificial

We talk to a pharmaceutical wholesaler fighting to survive against the Big Three that control 98 percent of the market, and manufacture scarcity for critical drugs.

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Dec 03, 2024

Welcome to the podcast Organized Money. You can listen to today’s episode with Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) on Apple, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you go on government websites, you will find a list of hundreds of shortages of critical drugs that people need. This Great American Drug Shortage isn’t an accident—it’s by design.

In this eye-opening episode, we expose how three powerful drug distributors seized control of about 98 percent of America’s pharmaceutical supply chain, creating an artificial crisis that puts profits over patients.

Behind the scenes, shadowy middlemen have turned the generic drug market into a losing game for manufacturers. Rather than delivering on free-market promises of innovation and competition, this system produces something far more sinister: price-gouging, monopoly control, and manufactured scarcity.

Our guide through this pharmaceutical maze is Tim Ward, president and chief legal officer of Hercules, an independent pharmaceutical wholesaler fighting to survive against industry giants. Ward offers an insider’s view of how a handful of corporations gained the power to determine which medications Americans can—and can’t—access.

Listen via Apple:

Or Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening, and let us know how we’re doing in the comments or by responding directly to this email.

-Matt and Dave