The Rise in the Price of Prescription Drugs In the business of drug production over the years, there have been astronomical gains in the technology of pharmaceutical drugs. More and more drugs are being made for diseases and viruses each day, and there are many more drugs still undergoing research and testing. These "miracle" drugs are expensive, however, and many Americans cannot afford these prices. Prescription drug prices rose three times faster than inflation in the decade between 1981 and 1991, making the pharmaceutical industry the nation's most profitable business. Prescription drugs even exceeded the rapidly rising inflation rate for all other medical services. They now represent at least 10% of all the medical costs in the United States.1 Why are the prices so high? Some critics of the drug companies argue that the larger firms are ripping off the American public, are dishonest and, in some cases, unsafe. On the other hand, there are health care workers such as doctors and their supporters who claim that research and testing for drugs costs money. This supposedly justifies their prices for their products. Also, as an argument to their side, they say that their practice is a benefit to the improvement to mankind. It is a life saving business, but are these prices justified? As one can see, this is a very important issue in medicine today. It affects everyone involved with medicine, which is much of the American public. It also affects the physicians and drug makers. Government factors into the equation of the argument. Critics of the drug industry say that there is not enough regulation, while supporters of the pharmaceutical companies argue that there is too much regulation and that that is one... ... middle of paper ... ... near future. They key to this is that people forget about how much money they make and to simply just work for the betterment of mankind. Bibliography: 1Drake, Donald and Marian Uhlman: Making Medicine Making Money; Universal Press, 1993, p 1. 2Silverman, Milton, et al: Bad Medicine; Stanford University Press, 1992, p 209-210. 3Walker, Hugh: Market Power and Price levels in the Ethical Drug Industry; Indiana University Press, 1971, P 25. 4Breckon, William: The Drug Makers; Bowering Press Plymouth, 1972, p 145. 5Statman, Meir: Competition in the Pharmaceutical Industry; American Enterprise, 1983, p 45. 6Northrup, Jonathan: Prescription drug pricing in Independent and Chain Drugstores; UPENN, 1975, p 4. 7Lindsay, Cotton: The Pharmaceutical Industry; Wiley Medical Publication, 1978, p 73. 8Chetley, Andrew: A Healthy Business; Zed Books, 1990.
Abramsons points are well taken, and it truly is a shame that the medical industry has become a business. In my opinion, if the pharmaceutical industry was taken out of the hands of the capitalist marketplace and given the to the government, it would become less of a business. Prescription drugs are not ordinary consumer goods; they are products that can ultimately save lives. If a money-oriented company controls these products, it is inevitable selling the drug would become a greater priority than actually creating a beneficial drug. Which as a result, will to the creation many well-marketed yet ineffective
There seems to be no law protecting patients from the price increases that these big pharmaceutical companies are making. Marcia Angell, is an American physician, author, and the first woman to serve as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. In chapter 10 of her book, The Truth About the Drug Companies, she talks about stretching out the idea on monopoly. Patents makes it illegal for a specific set amount of time for competitors to sell the same/similar drugs. Once the patent is over, when the company loses its rights to a drug, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) arranges for the generic version of the drugs made by a different company to go out on the market. When there is only one generic brand on the market, the cost may not be as cheap because the generic brand and the brand name shadow prices. This keeps the generic version just beneath the price of the brand name. Although the generic is not that much cheaper than the brand name, in the course of one year, the brand name company will lose hundred of millions of dollars due to generic drugs. From an economic point of view,
Federal Trade Commission, 1979. Braithwalte, John. The. Corporate Crime in the Pharmaceutical Industry? Boston, MS: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984.
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.
This is definitely a problem for consumers because they can have ties with the pharmaceutical and they have the ability to evoke the best interests for their company when pricing drugs. According to the drug makers and the intermediaries, the higher cost are needed to pay of rebates and providing discounts for insurers and employers. Despite providing incentives to those with insurance, this alienates those who have little to no insurance, they are left to burden the higher drug prices. In the U.S., there isn’t a checks and balances system when it comes to drug pricing like in the U.K. therefore some critics do not blame Mylan for raising the price for these drugs. Making and testing for innovative medicines requires years of research, which means money. Therefore, I do understand that drug makers, the pharmaceutical company and its investors want to get paid for the amount of time and money that they put into their new drug. However, I believe that they need to find that particular medium that helps the people especially those who are less fortunate and in need for this life-saving medication while being able to make a
Yu, Winnie and Joel Hay. 1999. “Drug Patents and Prices: Can we Achieve Better Outcomes?” Measuring the Prices of Medical Treatments. Pages 27-28.
Pharmaceuticals are arguably one of the most contentious of all goods and services traded in the market. While medicines are as much a necessity as foods and water, they require more technical expertise and official approbation in the manufacture. Above all, they carry a moral weight that most market products do not (The Economist, 2014). This idea of moral can be linked to the recurring debate over whether a good health (which is represented by medicines, in this case) should be considered a basic human right, or just a normal commodity. A large portion of such controversy actually lies in an existence of drug patents: should we promote for longer-lasting patents or should we have their duration shortened?
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.
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.
There is no doubt that healthcare cost are rising out of control. No one likes the
Martinez, Barbara “Firms Paid to Trim Drug Costs Also Toil for Drug Makers” The Wall Street
Phatak, A. (1998 йил 01-01). The pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession. Retrieved 2012 йил 19-01 from Indian Journal of Medical Ethics: http://www.ijme.in/064cr131.html
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 industry , which is the only appealing side of the drug trade, but it is not
Large pharmaceutical industries are making big profits on medications because they charge high prices for profit. These pharmaceutical companies are overcharging for medications that are essential to maintaining the health of patients. Having such a high cost for medication prevents patients from receiving the care that they need. This may result in patients resorting to desperate measure such as stealing and other illegal acts. The pharmaceutical industry need to reevaluate their ethical standards because the way that these companies are going about pricing their drugs is preventing patients from living a health life. These profits come at an expense of people who depend on those medications to maintain a quality of life. It is not ethical