Patients who struggle to pay for their medication, struggle with life. The Pharmaceutical Industry( Big Pharma) makes the important name brand drugs expensive, they are forcing people to take the medication, and they are also forcing them to refill the prescriptions even if they don’t need them; every pill counts! The cost of medication from 2009 to 2016 has increased by 400%. The Tactics of Big Pharma have been found to be wrong by many people and their own companies. Insurance companies are paying for patients’ over priced medications, sometimes the insurance doesn’t even cover it because it is so overpriced. The pharmaceutical company should start applying new drugs that are less expensive, than taking money for themselves. Big Pharma …show more content…
Due to the high costs of Epipens, people are buying Epinephrine ampoules and filling their own syringes with it, the Ampoules are cheaper than buying the actual epi-pens and they work just the same. Although this may be true, Big Pharma is still taking away patient Advocacy, and how Big Pharma is helping Big Narcotic Companies produce their illegal drugs. In most states patient advocacy groups, are captured by the drug industry. 15 different companies are on board with Big Pharmas scams and tactics. “ 39-42% of Patient advocacy groups who participated in discussions with the FDA to review the process for prescription drugs received funding from the Pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, Big Pharma have been helping the cookers of meth stay in business. 2005 was the start of it all, it was the revolution of Methamphetamine productions. Meth users called it the “ Shake and Bake”, it’s key feature was to greatly simplify the way meth is …show more content…
According to Kantar Media, “It paid off for Big Pharma.” The same year, Americans spent a record $457 billion on prescription drugs.” The reason all of the patients have been filling their prescriptions is because big pharma is making the most money off of the filling of prescriptions. It has been determined that they are forcing patients to get their prescriptions even if they do not need them. In advertisements it fails to tell you the hidden costs and the devastating side effects this makes the critics say,” The ads drive up drug prices and erode the patient-doctor relationship.” This causes the patients to become untrustworthy of their doctors and they fear that they have to take something that they don't need, and i makes them think they have a disease because of the false advertisement
The United States of America accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, yet as a nation, we devour over 50% of the world’s pharmaceutical medication and around 80% of the world’s prescription narcotics (American Addict). The increasing demand for prescription medication in America has evoked a national health crisis in which the government and big business benefit at the expense of the American public.
Direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads are dangerous and can have serious effects on the health of the general public. In the article “Pros & Cons Arguments: ‘Should prescription drugs be advertised directly to consumers?’”, the pros and cons of the advertising of prescription drugs are compared. The negative aspects of these ads outweigh that of the positives. DTC prescription drug ads misinform patients, promote over-usage, and pressure medical providers. The counter side argues that these ads inform patients, create a positive impact on patient compliance with medication, and cause patients to confront their doctors.
In America, it has become a battle to earn a high paying job to cope with the expenses of a typical American. It has become even more of a battle for some people to afford medical prescriptions to keep healthy. Health becomes a crucial issue when discussed among people. No matter what, at one point or another, everyone is going to stand as a victim of the pharmaceutical industry. The bottom line is Americans are paying excessive amounts of money for medical prescriptions. Health-Care spending in the U.S. rose a stunning 9.3% in 2002, which is the greatest increase for the past eleven years. (Steele 46) Many pharmaceutical companies are robbing their clients by charging extreme rates for their products.
The current unprecedented skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs is a historic event in healthcare. The privatization of healthcare has arguably moved the health care system from patient-centric to money-centric. The recent unsettling examples of price hikes for drugs that combat AIDs as well as EpiPen brand epinephrine have left many consumers wondering why these prices are so arbitrary. The conversation between Government and big pharmaceuticals is not promising when looking for reprieve in the cost of life saving drugs. Free market capitalism dictates that the government should play a small role in the privatized health care system; however, the government is also a purchaser of pharmaceutical goods due to entitlement programs. It is not unimaginable for the government to place restrictions on these corporations that are exploiting the ill for more profit.
We live in a world where being medicated has become a societal norm. Modern health care practices have set the stage for the proliferation of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Some of these practices include the emergence of managed care organizations (MCOs), the legalization of DTCA of prescription drugs, the emergence of the Internet as an alternative promotional channel, the increased desire by patients to become more involved in their own health care decisions, the disillusionment with traditional medicine, and the rise of ‘alternative’ medicine, to name a few. There is an ongoing debate as to the ultimate harm or benefit of this relatively recent practice of pharmaceutical manufacturers to direct their promotional efforts away from the physician and towards the consumer.
From 1970 to 1998, the inflation-adjusted revenue of major pharmaceutical companies more than quadrupled to $81 billion, 24 percent of that from drugs affecting the central nervous system and sense organs. Sales of herbal medicines now exceed $4 billion a year. Meanwhile the war on Other drugs escalated dramatically. Since 1970 the federal antidrug budget has risen 3,700 percent and now exceeds $17 billion. More than one and half million people are arrested on drug charges each year, and 400,000 are now in prison. These numbers are just a window into an obvious truth: We take more drugs and reward those who supply them. We punish more people for taking drugs and especially punish those who supply them. On the surface, there is no conflict...The drug wars and the drug boom are interrelated, of the same body. The hostility and veneration, the punishment and profits, these come from the same beliefs and the same mistakes.
It may sound unbelievable that Big Pharma has tremendous influence over everybody. However, we can see advertisements and commercials everywhere around us. Commercials on television market the drugs to society by depicting nice surroundings and happy consumers. This plants subliminal messages into our brain that subconsciously affects us, telling us that this drug will produce happiness when we take it. Even ads on billboards and newspapers affect the way we see drugs. All these messages tell us that we need drugs in order to be happy in life like the mom or children depicted on T.V. Every year, the pharmaceutical industry spends over $3 billion on consumer ads and the price is nothing compared to the billions of dollars the ads help rake in.
The United States spends more per capita on health care than any other country, with the percentage of gross domestic product dedicated to health care doubling from 9% in 1980 to 18% in 2011(Kesselheim,). One of the contributors to health care inflation is prescription drugs. Pharmaceuticals account for about 10% of total health care costs, spending on pharmaceuticals is poised to swell in upcoming years as a result of the increasing prices of complex specialty medicines (Kesselheim). Name brand drugs are going to have to be set at higher prices, in order for pharmaceutical companies to receive a profit. If the patient has full coverage on a medication, there is a greater chance that medication will be taken, although it may not be
The rise in cost of prescription drugs affects all sectors of the health care industry, including private insurers, public programs, and patients. Spending on prescription drugs continues to be an important health care concern, particularly in light of rising pharmaceutical costs and the aging population. Prescription drugs have grown to become an essential component of health care. For millions of Americans, prescription drugs are necessary to their health and ability to function in society. While prescriptions are a relatively small portion of overall health spending, they are a main reason for certain health spending trends, growing almost twice as fast all other health services in recent years. Prescription costs can be the costliest expense in your budget, especially if you are on a fixed income. The wealthy can easily afford their medications, but for an increasing population such as the elderly, choosing among purchasing medication, paying bills, or buying food is a real concern.
There are three issues when it comes to the health care cost rising. The first is the rising cost in prescription drugs. The second area of rising cost is the increased technologies when it comes to the medical industry. The third problem is the aging population. Prescription drugs are the area of the fastest growing health care expense, and it is projected to grow at 20 to 30 percent each year over the next several years. There are many newer, more expensive drugs on the market, and the use of these prescriptions is exploding. In addition, with so much television advertising, many consumers ask their doctors for expensive, brand name drugs when there may actually be a generic drug that works just as well.
The main issues proponents of DTC ads strive to address are in relation to bettering the healthcare system and/or concerns from the opposing side. While the opposing side argues that this form of advertisement has turned the treatment of the healthcare system into a business, proponents focus their arguments on the benefits DTCPA have on the general public. Despite the lack of countries that participate in this type of drug marketing, proponents stand by the belief that DTCPA is a beneficial addition in healthcare. However, proponents fail to look at the logistics and long term effects this form of advertising could have.
The US consumes 75% of the world’s prescription drugs, although has only 5% of the world’s population. By eliminating the unnecessary care that accounts for about 30% of healthcare spending, the US has enough resources to cover everyone. Dr. Fisher and his colleagues at Dartmouth identified huge disparities between some U.S. counties on spending for patients with results that are just the same between the counties. In a system where supply can drive demand, people are not getting the value that they need for healthcare.
does not spend adequate money on preventative healthcare, especially considering that millions of Americans are diagnosed with diseases that can be cheap to prevent, but expensive to treat. Approximately half of adult Americans suffer from chronic diseases that require long-term treatment; some of the most common include heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. Certainly, these ailments are not always completely preventable, but in most cases, taking care of one’s health can prevent the acquiring of heart disease and obesity. With the U.S. now using both public and private based health insurance, this does not hinder private companies from implementing supply and demand. Another driving force of the high healthcare costs in the U.S. is the prescription drug market. The United States is one of only two countries in the world that allows millions of dollars each year to contribute to the advertising of prescription drugs. Of course, the cost of advertising causes the price of certain drugs to rise, Americans could benefit from laws prohibiting this type of health-related spending, and they could also benefit from government regulated healthcare
Any expenditure of this magnitude is prone to large vested interests and prescription drug spending is no exception. A shift to pharmacare will require significant political will. There will be winners and losers. Current expenditure includes the product, as well as the staff required
Accordingly, death is a major concern, and has come as a consequence of the absence of appropriate drugs needed for treatment. Ventola (2011) reported, “Drug shortages can affect the ability of health care professionals to keep patients alive, particularly in emergency departments, intensive-care units, and oncology wards” (p. 751). Furthermore, multiple reported deaths have been associated to drug shortages. For this reason, alternative treatments are not an option for everyone, and can require days of hospital inpatient care, such as cancer patients who can’t receive chemotherapy. On the other hand, pharmacist and providers are working three times as hard to provide patients with alternative treatment methods that can be pricey. According to Fox (2014), “The economic effect can also be felt by patients when the formulary preferred agent on their managed care plan becomes unavailable and a more costly alternative must be prescribed” (Fox et al, p 365). Many alternative prescriptions are available due to the rationing of drugs. As a result, patients have an adequate measure to stabilize, and in some cases treat their condition. Lastly, safety risk is another health hazard that adversely affects patients and puts a strain on professional relationship. Alternatives are not always the best options, and in some cases cause significant damage. As reported by Ventola (2011), “A shortage often