Healthcare in the United States costs about twice as much as it does in any other country.
Even though the United States is paying so much more for healthcare, one of the reasons it is not appearing at the top of the rakings is because of drug costs. Prescription drug policy is difficult because “it is an industry with low marginal cost and high fixed cost”; pills can be produced for pennies, while development of new drugs costs millions of dollars (Frank). Spending on prescription drugs has been growing at a rate from fifteen to eighteen percent per year over the past few years and according to “Government Commitment and Regulation of Prescription Drugs,” the U.S. prescription drug market is a $140 billion dollar industry (Frank).
Individuals …show more content…
There were also some issues to the program including: that some individuals were not provided with the information they needed to make a choice about their prescription drug coverage, beneficiaries did not understand that their benefits could probably change, and some were being told that they may have to pay money back to their drug plan ("Medicare Part D - Part D Problems Continue."). Problems that are still encountered today, and one of the main problems, is that Customer service representatives at drug plans and Medicare continue to give incorrect or incomplete information because they are not able to resolve the …show more content…
This means consumers lack awareness of the actual medication prices, and have no pressure to keep them under control. Companies will raise a certain drug price drastically because they say that the new profit they receive will be invested in further research for a better drug. Since the movement has very limited power to drug prices they don’t see the consequences that come along with the dramatically raise in drug prices. For example, for some individuals that really need a certain medication may not be able to afford the new price of the drug; they cannot wait for the “newer” medication. To begin with, the power in setting the price for drugs is merging towards drug manufacturers, which instead should be left to healthcare providers; it seems that the focus of these large drug companies is not about profits going towards a better and newer medication, but towards their beneficial profits (Merelli). The United States is the only country that does not offer a publicly funded healthcare system, relying instead on largely private insurance; this affects the pricing of drugs in many ways that are independent from the regulations imposed on pharmaceutical companies. In conclusion, the government needs to try to offer a publicly funded healthcare system and be more involved in the drug prices in the United
Even though the United States is paying so much more for healthcare, one of the reasons it is not appearing at the top of the rakings is because of drug costs. Prescription drug policy is difficult because “it is an industry with low marginal cost and high fixed cost”; pills can be produced for pennies, while development of new drugs costs millions of dollars (Frank). Spending on prescription drugs has been growing at a rate from fifteen to eighteen percent per year over the past few years and according to “Government Commitment and Regulation of Prescription Drugs,” the U.S. prescription drug market is a $140 billion dollar industry (Frank).
Individuals …show more content…
There were also some issues to the program including: that some individuals were not provided with the information they needed to make a choice about their prescription drug coverage, beneficiaries did not understand that their benefits could probably change, and some were being told that they may have to pay money back to their drug plan ("Medicare Part D - Part D Problems Continue."). Problems that are still encountered today, and one of the main problems, is that Customer service representatives at drug plans and Medicare continue to give incorrect or incomplete information because they are not able to resolve the …show more content…
This means consumers lack awareness of the actual medication prices, and have no pressure to keep them under control. Companies will raise a certain drug price drastically because they say that the new profit they receive will be invested in further research for a better drug. Since the movement has very limited power to drug prices they don’t see the consequences that come along with the dramatically raise in drug prices. For example, for some individuals that really need a certain medication may not be able to afford the new price of the drug; they cannot wait for the “newer” medication. To begin with, the power in setting the price for drugs is merging towards drug manufacturers, which instead should be left to healthcare providers; it seems that the focus of these large drug companies is not about profits going towards a better and newer medication, but towards their beneficial profits (Merelli). The United States is the only country that does not offer a publicly funded healthcare system, relying instead on largely private insurance; this affects the pricing of drugs in many ways that are independent from the regulations imposed on pharmaceutical companies. In conclusion, the government needs to try to offer a publicly funded healthcare system and be more involved in the drug prices in the United