Medication costs
[citation needed] Other countries use pharmacoeconomics, which looks at the cost/benefit of a product in terms of quality of life, alternative treatments (drug and non-drug), and cost reduction or avoidance in other parts of the health care system (for example, a drug may reduce the need for a surgical intervention, thereby saving money).
[1] A November 2020 study found that more than 1.1 million senior citizens in the U.S. Medicare program are expected to die prematurely over the next decade because they will be unable to afford their prescription medications, requiring an additional $17.7 billion to be spent annually on avoidable medical costs due to health complications.
In addition a government agency, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) assesses cost effectiveness of individual prescription drugs pricing.
[18] The process of drug discovery can involve scientists determining the germs, viruses, and bacteria that cause a specific disease or illness.
Research teams attempt to break down disease components to find abnormal events/processes taking place in the body.
[19] After "discovery" and a creation of a chemical compound, pharmaceutical companies move forward with the Investigational New Drug (IND) Application from the FDA.
Customers in the United States have been protesting the high prices for recent "miracle" drugs like Daraprim and Harvoni, both of which attempt to cure or treat major diseases (HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C).
[29] After denouncement from 2016 presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Martin Shkreli said he would reduce the price but later decided not to.
Hillary Clinton announced a proposal to help patients with chronic and severe health conditions by placing a nationwide monthly cap of $250 on prescription out-of-pocket drugs.
[citation needed] Soliris only treats two extremely rare diseases, so the number of consumers is low, making it an orphan drug.
[12] The benefit of this drug is immense because it cures very rare diseases that would cost much more money to treat otherwise, which saves insurance companies and health agencies millions of dollars.
[citation needed] Policy makers in some countries have placed controls on the amount pharmaceutical companies can raise the price of drugs.
In 2017, Democratic party leaders proposed the creation of a new federal agency to investigate and perhaps fine drug manufacturers who make unjustified price increases.
Pharmaceutical companies would be required to submit a justification for a drug with a “significant price increase” within at least 30 days of implementation.
[12] Patent laws give pharmaceutical companies the exclusive right to market a drug for a period of time, allowing them to extract a high monopoly price.
After that period, the same product from different manufacturers - known as generic drugs - can be sold, usually resulting in a substantial price reduction and possible shift in market share.
Additional incentives are available in some jurisdictions for manufacturers of orphan drugs for rare diseases, including extended monopoly protection, tax credits, waived fees, and relaxed approval processes due to the small number of affected patients.
[34] Transparency between drug manufacturers and sellers increases accountability between producers and consumers and allows for patients to know more about what they are paying for.
Prescription Drug Price Locators allow for patients to learn of more cost-effective sellers and find discounts that will benefit them.
[35] Although what the HHS sought to change was a step in the right direction for drug price transparency, Federal Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled in favor of the pharmaceutical industry.
[35] Policymakers have a lot to take into account when regarding the issue of transparency, as there are many middlemen involved in the selling and buying of prescription drugs.
[36][37] Consumers who have increased costs for medicine are more likely to change their lifestyle to spend less money on groceries, entertainment, and routine family needs.
[38] A November 2020 study by the West Health Policy Center stated that more than 1.1 million senior citizens in the U.S. Medicare program are expected to die prematurely over the next decade because they will be unable to afford their prescription medications, requiring an additional $17.7 billion to be spent annually on avoidable medical costs due to health complications.
[2] The effects of high prescription costs on consumers also affects their long-term health and overall life expectancy.
When a patient cannot afford to pay for their medication, they lose out on the optimal benefits of proper and adequate dosages.
The most commonly recommended course of action for consumers who seek to lower their drug costs is for them to tell their own doctor and pharmacist that they need to save money and then ask for advice.
A study found that among U.S. Medicare beneficiaries without subsidies, 30% of prescriptions written for anticancer drugs, 22% for hepatitis C, and more than 50% for disease-modifying therapies for either immune system disorders or hypercholesterolemia were not filled by patients.
The high cost of prescription drugs became a major topic of discussion in the new millennium, leading up to the U.S. health care reform debate of 2009, and received renewed attention in 2015.
[58] The Government of Canada found that during the 2020-2021 year, the country had spent 12.3 billion dollars on medication costs.
The legal framework regarding generic versions of patented drugs is formalised in the Doha Declaration on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and later agreements.
