Is there anyone who thinks prescription drug prices in America are about right?
President Trump has elevated an issue Democrats have been jawboning about for years. Last Monday the president issued an executive order (EO) he says will decrease the cost of drugs in America and lead to increased transparency about how pharmaceutical companies set prices.
As noted by Forbes.com: “Drug prices in America are nearly three times the price of those in 33 comparable countries, according to a report from the HHS. As an example, consider Ozempic, the popular diabetic drug that has been used for weight loss, which is more than five times as expensive in America ($936) as it is in Japan ($169). In addition, nearly 58 million Americans cannot afford prescription medications. With drugs more widely accessible, this could translate to better health outcomes in decreasing the burden of chronic medical conditions.”
Congress must ultimately decide whether to pass legislation to lower drug prices. If they do, lawsuits by Big Pharma will likely follow.
The pharmaceutical industry has argued the cost of research and development of new drugs is what drives up prices, but the president is right when he says it is unfair that other countries pay far less for the same drugs, made by the same companies, packaged the same way, and sold to other countries for far less than Americans pay. One way to fix this inequity is to persuade — or force — the drug companies to raise the price of drugs they sell to other nations to recoup the research-and-development expenses while lowering the cost to Americans.