US Government drug affordability. If the US government (i.e., the taxpayer) contributes financial and scientific assistance to a pharmaceutical firm in its research and development of a prescription drug, do you believe the US government should be able to require that the price of any resulting drug must be affordable?
The student will post one thread of 300-500 words.
For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least 2 scholarly citations in the current APA format. Each thread must incorporate at least 2 scholarly citations in the current APA format. Threads must also include at least 1 biblical integration. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include peer-reviewed sources and the Bible.
Americans pay much higher prices for brand drugs than do people who live in other industrialized nations. Most Americans—79 percent—consider U.S. prescription drug prices to be unreasonable, with almost 3 in 10 reporting they go without prescribed medications because of cost. With 70 percent of Americans reporting that lowering drug costs is their highest health care priority, the Congress and the Biden Administration are considering how to lower US drug prices.
Having the federal government lower drug prices directly—whether by negotiating with manufacturers or unilaterally setting prices—would save money for governments, employers, and consumers, but constitute a major policy initiative that turns away from reliance on market forces. Because of high U.S. prices, drug companies generate an estimated three-quarters of worldwide drug company profits in the United States. That means not only that U.S. consumers pay a lot, but also that reducing U.S. drug prices would lower manufacturer revenue and return on investment, likely cutting funding for development of new drugs, with a slowing of innovation.
Members of Congress have introduced several bills to curb drug prices. The most important, in our view, is H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which passed the House in late 2019 but was not taken up by the Senate. It sharply expanded the boundaries of drug pricing reform discussions by authorizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set drug prices for both government and commercial payers through a combination of formulas and negotiation and imposed prohibitive tax penalties on pharmaceutical manufacturers that did not accept the government price.
Importantly, H.R. 3 would have the government control what manufacturers can charge for their drugs—regulated prices—which deviates from the more traditional approach of establishing what public payers like Medicare will pay for drugs—administered prices. Reflecting the expanded scope of drug pricing reform issues, this blog explores six key policy choices that any measure to rein in drug prices directly would have to address, either through legislation or regulation.