The Pros And Cons Of Prescription Drug Prices

Did you know that eight percent of adults do not take their medications as prescribed because they can not afford them? This ultimately causes many patients to ask their doctors to prescribe lower-cost medications, buy their prescriptions from other countries, or use alternative therapies (LeWine). Medications can be a great treatment option, although medications do not work if they are not being taken correctly, or let alone at all. It is devastating that this treatment has become a privilege that very few can have without wondering how they will pay for it. The price of life-saving medications prescribed by doctors in the U.S. are continuing to increase, which is causing many to choose between their health and providing for themselves; the

In the U.S. there currently is no government regulation when it comes to prescription drug prices, granting pharmaceutical companies complete control over their prices. Unfortunately, many companies take advantage of this freedom and there is a lot of corporate greed that occurs when setting the prices of these life-saving medications. While research, development, and trial for these new drugs are extremely expensive and are taken into account when pharmaceutical companies set their prices, it is not justifiable when these prices are exceeding inflation rates. Moreover, “Drug expenditures nearly doubled between 1980 and 1991 (from $15.8 billion to $29.2 billion), even after adjusting for inflation. Much of this increase was driven by increases in prescription drug prices, which rose by more than twice the rate of inflation between 1980 and 1991” (Gross). Since 1991, the cost of prescription drug prices has only continued to

Medications are an amazing resource to fight infection and treat diseases; they are a treatment that should be available to all. The increases in prices are not justifiable and it is time that corporate greed from pharmaceutical companies is put to an end. If the U.S. government gets involved with prescription drug prices, by regulation, negotiation, or international reference pricing, we could see some improvement and reduction in these costs. Many other high-income countries are already regulating their prescription drug prices to prevent corporate greed, so why aren’t we? It is time to take a step towards helping patients in the U.S. afford the medications that are already available to them and continue to use the money provided for research to continue innovation. The unrealistic and extremely high prices of prescription medications are taking a toll on patients in the U.S. No one’s health should ever be on the line because they can not afford to take their medications. Short-term solutions are not enough, it is time we make a change for our