Critique of Bandow

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Bardach (000) suggests conveying the existence of a problem by ¡°think[ing] in terms of deficits and excess.¡± For example, to emphasize the problem of the uninsured in Maryland, a policy analyst might convey the problem as ¡°There are too many uninsured citizens in Maryland.¡± Such a statement provides a primary problem focus and keeps the analysis from exceeding its boundaries. Emphasizing deficit or excess¡ªespecially using the word ¡°too¡±¡ªis a clear reminder that an issue is worth studying further. The phrase ¡°too many uninsured citizens in Maryland¡± drives home the point that there exists an excess of citizens in Maryland without health insurance and something needs to be done about it.

Bandow (00) emphasizes ¡°excess¡± but not in the manner suggested by Bardach.

That is, Bandow explains the absurdity of allegations by patients and politicians that drugmakers are charging ¡°unreasonably high drug costs.¡± Hence, he emphasizes that drug costs are not excessive despite claims by patients and politicians. For instance, Bandow states that ¡°prices for U.S. pharmaceuticals are not excessive relative to the benefits they offer.¡± He certainly implies that drug companies have come under unwarranted criticism and vilification by excessive attacks from patients and politicians. This idea is merely an implication and is not part of a clear definition of the problem as suggested by Bardach.

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Bardach is quick to mention that this technique is not intended to be used in situations where a well-structured decision problem or invention-type problem are found. He provides an example of each situation (1) ¡°Dump the dredging spoils either in the Bay or somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean¡± (decision type problem) and, () Find some grant funds to close the anticipated gap between revenues and expenditures¡± (invention-type problem).

I would argue that Bandow¡¯s outline of the problem is somewhat similar to the ¡°decision-type¡± problem. That is, the reader is faced with the decision as to whether (1) drugmakers are villains (or not), () drug costs are too high (or not), and () patients and politicians are justified in their attacks and villainous portrayals of drugmakers (or not). As Bardach points out, the decision-type problem should not be approached with the ¡°deficits and excess¡± technique, as the problem is relatively straightforward. Therefore, Bandow should not be expected to define the problem in terms of deficits and excess.

. The Definition Should be Evaluative

Bardach argues that a problem should be evaluative in nature, noting that looking at ¡°market failure¡± is a good way to determine whether a private issue warrants ¡°amelioration by public resources.¡± In particular, one of Bardach¡¯s points relates directly to Bandow¡¯s analysis.

In its simplest formulation, market failure occurs when the technical

properties of a good or service

¡ñ make it hard for consumer (and sometimes suppliers) to know

the true qualities of the good or service they are acquiring¡ª

many repair-type services, including those performed by physicians as well as those performed by auto mechanics¡­

There are numerous examples in the Bandow analysis that show his use of the evaluative technique. One particular striking example is presented

Medicines do more than extend lives. They improve the quality of

lives¡ªnot just the patients¡¯ lives but the lives of their family members

and other caregivers. Pharmaceutical products provide economic benefits

as well by reducing other medical expenditures by, for example,

lowering the rate of hospitalizations, surgeries, and other invasive medical treatments. One recent study of the use of anti-AIDS drug cocktails

calculated that the drugs actually saved $,000 annually by reducing hospitalizations. More broadly, Lichtenberg used data from the 16 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and concluded that replacing 1,000 prescriptions

for never drugs would increase drug costs by $18,000 but slash hospital

costs by at least $44,000.

Bandow is making the point that patients and politicians do not realize how much money is actually saved by the use of prescriptions. That is, consumers are not aware of the ¡°true qualities of the good or service they are acquiring.¡± Consumers focus on the immediate expense rather than long-term benefits, such as improvements to overall health and a reduction in personal health care expenditures.

. Common Pitfalls

Bardach lists two common pitfalls as being dangerous in the ¡°deceptively simple step¡± of developing a problem statement (1) Defining the solution into the problem, and () Be skeptical about the causal claims implicit in diagnostic problem definitions.

The first pitfall refers to the inadvertent practice of including an implicit solution in the problem definition. For example, ¡°There is too little shelter for homeless families.¡± The implicit solution is to build more shelter. A better way to state the problem is, ¡°There are too many homeless families.¡± Bandow does a good job of avoiding this pitfall.

The second pitfall refers to implicit causal claims. The policy analyst must be sure that the causes of the problem are actual and not assumed. Bandow makes this mistake on numerous occasions. Consider some examples

A. Bandow attacks the Medicare program for not providing outpatient prescription drug benefits, as well as private insurance coverage for seniors that covers only a small portion of drug costs. The problem, according to Bandow, is that drug costs appear excessive because of the lack of insurance coverage. That is, lack of insurance coverage is causing the problem¡ªthe appearance of high drug costs¡ªand not drugmakers. In citing this as a cause of the problem, Bandow neglects to take into consideration that maybe Medicare and other private insurance companies serving the elderly cannot afford to pay for the already excessive drug costs¡ªhence, the consumer must take on the burden.

B. Due to increasing health care costs, employers are now asking employees to pay higher copayments when filling brand name prescription drugs. As a result, this appears to the consumer as an increase in the cost of the drug and the drugmaker is incorrectly blamed. That is, the cause of the problem is a combination of rising health care costs and employers, not an increase in costs initiated by drugmakers. Once again, Bandow does not seem to recognize the fact that drug costs might already be unreasonably high (and increasing) and, as a result, employers are paying less and expecting more from employees.

C. AIDS patients in poor countries have become ¡°anti-pharmaceutical¡± because of the relatively high price of treatment regimens. Bandow implies that these high costs are a result of the enormous amounts of money that had to go into the research and development of these drugs. That is, the high cost has nothing to do with maximizing profits but, rather, is necessary to recover the cost of R&D. The underlying assumption here by Bandow is that drugmakers are passing on the true cost of R&D. Where is the evidence that drugmakers are not charging up and above the cost of R&D in order to maximize profits by demanding a premium price from the uninsured poor of other countries?

D. Bandow states clearly that ¡°prescription drugs are not the driving force behind rising health care costs¡­ [but, rather,] hospital care costs were the most important component of rising health care expenses in 001.¡± That is, the cost of pharmaceuticals is not unreasonably high because hospital care costs are rising even faster. Bandow fails to address the issue that perhaps drug costs were already too high pre-001. In addition, who is to say that drug costs and health care costs should increase at the same rate? Perhaps drug costs are increasing faster than what would be expected based on their benefits and R&D costs.

Bandow is clearly a victim of at least one of the pitfalls outlined by Bardach. Bandow

makes numerous causal claims without actually having proof that these claims are true. The arguments are convincing if the reader believes these assumptions. However, the arguments are really nothing more than speculation and create a very shaky analysis of the assault on the pharmaceutical industry. Neglecting to show solid proof of these causal relationships leads the reader to believe that perhaps the demonizing of drugmakers by patients and politicians is justifiable and necessary.Please note that this sample paper on Critique of Bandow is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Critique of Bandow, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college papers on Critique of Bandow will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

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