Category: Cost of healthcare in the U.S.

Prescription drug prices are out of cotrol

KEY POINTS:

  • About three in ten adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed at some point in the past year because of the cost. This includes about one in five who report that they have not filled a prescription or took an over-the counter drug instead, and about one in ten who say they have cut pills in half or skipped a dose.
  • The public sees profits made by pharmaceutical companies as the largest factor contributing to the price of prescription drugs. About eight in ten across partisans say profits made by pharmaceutical companies are a “major factor” in the price of prescription drugs.
  • The May 2021 KFF Health Tracking Poll finds about two-thirds of adults say there is “not as much regulation as there should be” when it comes to limiting the price of prescription drugs.
  • There are proposals to allow the federal government to negotiate with drug companies to get a lower price on medications that would apply to both Medicare and private insurance and the KFF Health Tracking Poll finds majorities support this proposal, regardless of party identification

Source: Public Opinion on Prescription Drugs and Their Prices, Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues. KFF.org

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Prescription drug prices are out of cotrol

The perfect storm is coming for pharma

SUMMARY: One area where Republicans and Democrats agree is that drug pricing is out of control. Retail price increases for widely used brand name prescription drugs consistently exceeded the rate of general inflation between 2006 and 2020. In 2020, retail prices for 260 brand-name prescription drugs widely used by older adults increased by an average of 2.9 percent. In contrast, the general inflation rate was 1.3 percent over the same period. The US Federal Trade Commission is taking a more aggressive antitrust approach as eight US antitrust bills targeting the pharmaceutical industry have been recently introduced.

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The perfect storm is coming for pharma

Obesity represents a catastrophic failure of government policy, public health, and medicine

SUMMARY: Obesity has many causes, and while we would like to think the answer is as easy as people exercising more and eating less, it isn’t that simple. There is disagreement whether obesity is really considered a disease or a behavioral risk factor, similar to smoking, alcohol, and substance abuse that may lead to disease. Obesity is a multifactorial disease in which environmental conditions and several genes play an important role in developing this disease. Obesity is associated with neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington diseases) and neurodevelopmental diseases (autism disorder, schizophrenia, and fragile X syndrome). Some of the environmental conditions that lead to obesity are physical activity, alcohol consumption, socioeconomic status, parent feeding behavior, and diet.

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Obesity represents a catastrophic failure of government policy, public health, and medicine

The theory of maximizing pharma profits

IN SUMMARY: Developing and selling pharmaceutical products is not a standard business/ Often, people need the drugs we make to stay healthy, extend life and beat cancer. So the question this raises is “how much profit is a pharma company entitled to make?”. The media has not addressed this issue other than to point fingers at the high prices of prescription drugs continually. CEOs have to understand how our industry differs from other businesses.

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The theory of maximizing pharma profits