Rising Pharmaceutical Drug Prices

There are many problems with the healthcare system in the U.S. and one major problem is rising rising prices for pharmaceutical drugs. There are many pharmaceutical drugs that people need to treat various medical conditions. Pharmaceutical drug prices in the U.S. are higher than other developed countries. There are many people who need pharmaceutical drugs to survive but may not be able to afford them and will have to go into debt or go without them.

Pharmaceutical drugs are useful because they can save many lives. According to the FDA, “A drug is a substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease”. Certain drugs can improve a person’s quality of life so it is important they have access to those drugs. Prescription drugs are prescribed by doctors, are picked up at a pharmacy, and will treat a patient’s condition (FDA). Prescription drugs are regulated by the FDA and must be approved through the New Drug Application (NDA), which requires drugs to be tested to ensure they are safe (fda.gov). This is to guarantee that drugs work as advertised and are safe for people to ingest. Over the counter drugs do not need to be prescribed by a doctor. They are purchased in stores and are “regulated by FDA through OTC Drug monographs” (FDA). Examples of pharmaceutical drugs would be medication for high blood pressure, diabetes, acid reflux, pain management, etc.

There are many pharmaceutical drugs that are becoming too expansive in the United States. This is a problem for the people who need those drugs to improve their lives. According to Emery Jr. (2016) “98 percent of 40 top branded drugs” in the U.S. were cheaper in England, “93 percent of the 40 top branded drugs” were cheaper in Norway, and 93 percent of the top 30 branded drugs in Ontario were cheaper. This would indicate that many of the same top drugs in the United States are more expensive in three different countries. It does not seem to make much sense that people in the United States would be paying more money for the same drugs. According to Oyedele (2015), the United States ranked number 1 out of 29 countries in pharmaceutical expeditures per capita in 2013. The U.S. spending the most on pharmaceutical drugs is the reason why the prices are out of control.

There are many reasons why pharmaceutical drugs are higher in the U.S. than other countries. One major reason for higher pharmaceutical drug prices is Medicare cannot negotiate prescription drug prices. According to Kertscher (2017), “Medicare Part D is a voluntary insurance program for prescription drugs for people on Medicare” and it allows people to choose a plan offered by private insurance companies that the government pays for. The problem is that it is the private insurance companies negotiating drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry and not the government (Kertscher, 2017). This is a problem because private insurance companies are for profit and may not get the lowest prices for people on Medicare. The government does not need to make a profit so they would get the lowest prescription drug prices possible for people on Medicare, which would save the government money.

Not having enough competition for pharmaceutical drugs with generic drugs to lower the prices is another problem. According to Ramsey (2016), the U.S. is one of the top countries in spending for research and development of drugs. There are many companies that receive exclusive rights for a certain amount of time if they develop the drug first (Ramsey, 2016). This allows those companies to set their own prices, which could be excessive. They do this knowing their drugs will be purchased because there is no similar drugs on the market. There are many companies that create other patents or make some minor changes to the drug to hang on to the exclusive rights (Ramsey, 2016). Generic drugs need to be approved by the FDA as well, which causes the generic drugs to be in a backlog (Ramsey, 2016). One possible solution would be for the FDA to lower the standards for approval but this is not practical because the generic drugs might not be safe or work as intended. Another solution mentioned in many articles would be to import the same or similar pharmaceutical drugs from other countries. Most pharmaceutical drugs are cheaper in other countries than in the U.S. so it would increase competition and lower prices. This would create access to cheaper pharmaceutical drugs.

Rising pharmaceutical drug prices are a major problem for many Americans who rely on pharmaceutical drugs to have a better life. There are many factors that cause this problem and there are solutions that could help solve it. The biggest solutions would be allowing the government to negotiate drugs prices for Medicare and importing cheaper drugs that are similar in other countries. This problem must be resolved so people do not have to go into debt or go without the life changing pharmaceutical drugs they need.

References

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/consumers/questionsanswers/ucm100101.htm

Emery Jr., C.E. (2016, Feb. 11). Bernie Sanders Has the Correct Diagnosis: U.S. Prescription Drug Prices Typically Highest in World. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/feb/11/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-has-correct-diagnosis-us-prescripti/

Kertscher, T. (2017, Jan. 17). Tammy Baldwin: 'Federal Government Prohibited from Negotiating Lower Prescription Drug Prices'. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2017/jan/17/tammy-baldwin/tammy-baldwin-federal-government-prohibited-negoti/

Oyedele, A. (2015, Nov. 4). One Chart Shows How Much Americans are Spending on Drugs Compared to The Rest of the World. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/pharmaceutical-spending-by-country-2015-11

Ramsey, L. (2016, Aug. 23). Why the Price of Prescription Drugs in the US is Out of Control. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-us-pays-more-for-prescription-drugs-2016-8