Millions of Americans live with chronic conditions and the rising cost of treatment is becoming more and more of a financial burden. Allergies affect as many as 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of children in the United States. While there is no cure, a common treatment – the EpiPen – is used in cases of severe allergic reactions.
Over the last ten years, the cost of this treatment has increased by 222 percent and now has a price of nearly $500.
Another chronic condition is arthritis with nearly 1 out of every 5 adults in America living with this ailment. Like allergies, there is no cure. And while treatments are available, the price increases for arthritis treatments continue to climb. Celebrex, an arthritis pain treatment by Pfizer, for example, costs 92% more than it did in 2007.
The list of evidence showing unsustainable drug pricing’s harmful effects on Americans keeps growing.
We need to move toward market-based solutions to increase transparency, promote competition, and enhance value. For the millions of Americans living with chronic conditions – including allergies and arthritis, these solutions cannot come soon enough.