Drug prices in the United States are too high and sharply rising prescription drug prices threaten the affordability of health care and the vitality of our entire economy. CSRxP has developed market-based reforms that restore a functioning market by increasing transparency, promoting competition and innovation, and that result in value.
“There is no silver bullet here. We need to balance affordability, access and innovation whether or not Medicare is directly involved in price negotiations. We can only strike that balance when the market has transparency and competition, and purchasers can pay for value.”
While it’s unconscionable that hedge fund pharmaceutical companies like Turing and Retrophin purchase treatments and suddenly raise prices, the current model in which drug companies raise prices year after year is just as bad for patients – and, frankly, unsustainable for our entire health care system.
Today the National Coalition of Health Care announced that AARP has officially joined the coalition’s Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million Americans and shares the Campaign’s goal of finding market-based solutions to reverse the trend of high and rising prescription drug prices.
Daraprim’s price hike was outrageous. But prices on prescriptions that are more widely used also continue to climb. Since the beginning of January, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has raised prices on more than 100 of its prescription drugs, according to Reuters. Some of those drugs, like medicines used to help treat symptoms of menopause or combat seizures, went up by more than 20 percent. What’s more, Pfizer did not reduce the price of any prescriptions.
“Prescription drug cost hikes are not limited to companies run by people like Martin Shkreli; they are commonplace in the pharmaceutical industry. This issue transcends political party lines because consumers, patients, and public programs across the country simply cannot afford higher prices for medication.”
In just the past year, prices have been jacked up on hundreds of medications. The dirty secret is that Big Pharma’s price increases far exceed Daraprim’s. They contribute to BILLIONS in Medicare spending and are used by MILLIONS of Medicare beneficiaries. Below we will take a look at just 30 of those medications.
Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, in little-reported remarks made in Iowa and posted online by the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, acknowledged as much. “As far as Big Pharma is concerned, you know, they’re in it to make money. And I understand that. But we need to have some alternative ways, because we need to be able to take care of our people,” Carson said.
The race for the White House begins in Iowa. But the first-in-the nation caucuses aren’t just about “picking a winner” for political parties. Iowans have the unique opportunity to shape national discussion on important issues. We should ask candidates how they would address important problems — and press them for detailed answers.
How to reduce drug prices: One view The Opinion of the USA Today Editorial Board View Online For fresh evidence that prescription drug pricing is out of whack, look no further than the recent case of Martin Shkreli, the hedge fund manager turned pharmaceutical CEO. Shkreli announced that his company would abruptly increase the cost […]