I OWN WARNER CHILCOTT!

2011-01-26 · letter vlog · John · 3:39 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Economics (also: Health, US politics & society) · mode: Explainer · tags: community lore, timely hook, civic or action cta

Answering Hank's drug-price video, John buys Warner Chilcott stock to show that the company works for its shareholders, and argues that free markets, good at much, fail at health care, so the US needs universal health insurance for its economy's sake.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Recap of Hank's Monday video; John 'emails the CEO' to praise him

★★ John recaps Hank's Monday video: Warner Chilcott, maker of Asacol HD, the drug that keeps Hank well enough to work, raised its price overnight and without warning by more than 1200%. — 00:00:00 · Hank Green
★★ As Hank asked, John emailed Warner Chilcott's CEO Roger Boissonneault, ironically to tell him he is doing a fantastic job. (satire) — 00:00:11

00:00:21 — John buys 100 Warner Chilcott shares: the CEO works for him; the website leads with the stock price

★★★ John buys 100 shares of Warner Chilcott stock as the market opens, making him one two-millionth owner of 'the company that's ruining your life'. (playful) — 00:00:21
★★★ The CEO does not work for Hank or other people with ulcerative colitis but for shareholders like John; his business is a return on John's investment, not supplying Hank with Asacol. — 00:00:30
★★ Warner Chilcott's webpage puts the stock price above the drugs and company news, and the site is at wcrx.com, its stock symbol, not warnerchilcott.com. — 00:00:38

00:00:57 — John is a capitalist who believes in markets but not unregulated ones

★★★ John, a self-described capitalist, believes free and open markets yield better, cheaper goods, but not in unregulated markets: Walmart should not be allowed to sell highly enriched uranium. — 00:00:57 · capitalism

“I am a capitalist”
★ The free market is really good at things like pricing airfare and fueling innovation such as wireless phone calls, John says. — 00:01:12

00:01:20 — Markets can't do pharma: malaria vs baldness pills, R&D for lucrative drugs, $50 then $620 like a first free rock

★★★ There are some things markets can't do, and the pharmaceutical industry is a great example, John argues. — 00:01:20
★★★ John says Hank would probably choose a pill curing malaria over one curing male pattern baldness, malaria being possibly the biggest drag on world economic productivity; the market sees only baldness riches. (hedged) — 00:01:23 · malaria
★★★ Pharmaceutical companies truly put profits back into research and development, John says, but into lucrative drugs, not drugs that maximize the overall health of the world. — 00:01:55
★★★ Warner Chilcott offered Hank its drug for $50 a month and then raised the price to $620 a month, John says. — 00:02:11
★★ John likens the $50-then-$620 pricing to crack dealers giving out the first rock free and musicians releasing free downloads: first maximize the number of customers, then the profit. (playful) — 00:02:14

00:02:26 — Desperate customers can't negotiate; Asacol is cheaper in Canada

★★★ Because patients without a gastrointestinal anti-inflammatory might die, they are super-motivated customers who cannot negotiate fairly with Warner Chilcott. — 00:02:26
★★ Asacol is much less expensive in Canada, where Warner Chilcott negotiates with the entire population rather than with individuals, John says. — 00:02:42 · Canada

00:02:50 — Free markets fail at health care; the US needs universal health insurance for the economy; Warner Chilcott can go Warner Chilcott itself; sign-off

★★★ The free market fails miserably at efficient, inexpensive, effective health care: that buying Warner Chilcott stock is the rational response to its price hike shows the market does not incentivize good health. — 00:02:50
★★★ The real reason the US needs universal health insurance with good drug coverage is economic: a healthier workforce spending on innovation rather than Asacol will benefit the American economy. — 00:03:13 · United States
★★ Speaking as an owner, John says that if Warner Chilcott can't deliver real drugs at fairly negotiated prices, it can 'go Warner Chilcott itself'. (joke) — 00:03:24

In the description and comments

★ The description gives a link where viewers can contact Warner Chilcott. — video description

Humor (significant)

John explains why the drug company is ruining Hank's life: its CEO doesn't work for patients with ulcerative colitis. — 00:00:30

“He works for me!”
John, a capitalist, explains he doesn't believe in unregulated free markets. — 00:01:09

“I don't believe that Wal-Mart should be allowed to sell highly enriched Uranium”
Malaria is possibly the single biggest suck on world economic productivity. — 00:01:34

“Aside from perhaps Call of Duty.”
Speaking as an owner, John says if Warner Chilcott can't deliver real drugs at fair prices... — 00:03:24

“then it can go Warner-Chilcot itself”

Threads in this video

retold · Hank's Asacol HD price rises from $50 to $620 a month (2011) — John recaps that Warner Chilcott raised the price of Hank's Asacol HD overnight by more than 1200%, and later that it went from $50 to $620 a month. (00:00:00) → refers to The 1200% Increase in my Prescription Drug Costs
result reported · Hank asks viewers to email Warner Chilcott's CEO, civilly, about the Asacol HD price rise (2011) — John says he did email the CEO as Hank asked, telling him, ironically, that he is doing a fantastic job. (00:00:11) → refers to The 1200% Increase in my Prescription Drug Costs
reminder · Hank asks viewers to email Warner Chilcott's CEO, civilly, about the Asacol HD price rise (2011) — The description links to a page where viewers can contact Warner Chilcott. (video description)
result reported · Hank asks John to help him think complexly about the Asacol HD price rise in his next video (2011) — John answers Hank's request to think about the situation complexly, explaining that the company works for its shareholders and that markets fail at health care. (00:00:30)
refine · Can business do good, or does business have to suck? — John says he is a capitalist who believes in free and open markets but not unregulated ones, and that some things, like pharmaceuticals, markets can't do. (00:00:57)
callback · 'Warner Chilcott' used as a swear word (2011) — John uses 'Warner Chilcott' as a verb ('Warner Chilcotted you') and a curse ('it can go Warner Chilcott itself'). (00:03:00)
refine · Should everyone be guaranteed health care? — John argues the US needs universal health insurance with good drug coverage, ultimately because a healthier workforce benefits the economy. (00:03:13)
update · Hank: living with ulcerative colitis (2007) — The CEO does not work for Hank or other people with ulcerative colitis but for shareholders like John; his business is a return on John's investment, not supplying Hank with Asacol. (00:00:30)
told · John buys Warner Chilcott stock after the Asacol HD price rise and sells it for a $26 profit (2011) — John buys 100 shares of Warner Chilcott stock as the market opens, making him, he says, one two-millionth owner of the company. (00:00:21)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Hank asks viewers to email Warner Chilcott's CEO, civilly, about the Asacol HD price rise (2011) — reported back; last: result reported, 2011-02-09
Hank asks John to help him think complexly about the Asacol HD price rise in his next video (2011) — reported back; last: result reported, 2011-01-26
John buys Warner Chilcott stock after the Asacol HD price rise and sells it for a $26 profit (2011) — followed over 3 videos (2011); last: update, 2011-04-01
Hank: living with ulcerative colitis (2007) — told 14×, last update 2026; last: retold, 2026-04-07

Mentioned

Central: capitalism · free market · market failure · universal health care · Warner Chilcott

Also: People: Roger Boissonneault

Works: Call of Duty

Organizations: Walmart

Concepts: health care prices in the United States · malaria · pattern hair loss · ulcerative colitis (concept)

Places: Canada · United States

Products: Asacol · Asacol HD

Also centred on market failure: Bill Gates and John Green Discuss Agriculture

Also centred on universal health care: Ranting and Giving Stuff Away · Health Care Overhaul Summarized Via MASSIVE PIG · Health Care Reform Thought Bubble · Health Care Reform: The Hank Factor · Adorable Puppy Explains Health Care Bill · Bigger Pizzas: A Capitalist Case for Health Care Reform

Also centred on Warner Chilcott: The 1200% Increase in my Prescription Drug Costs · Many Truths, 1 Lie!

Replies to

answers · The 1200% Increase in my Prescription Drug Costs — “On Monday you explained to us that Warner Chilcott”

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