The regulation of pharmaceutical drug costs should take precedence in the United States Government due to the issue that prices are becoming too unbearable for the working class and low class citizens to afford. Many families are now having to decide whether or not to continue buying into these lifesaving medicines, or use their money for other basic needs, risking their health. An issue that sparked this need for regulation was Martin Shkreli raising the price of Daraprim, which is used to treat a life-threatening condition called toxoplasmosis caused by a parasitic infection. Daraprim was originally sold for $18 a pill and was increased to $750 a pill overnight. “He said that with the new profits, the company could invest in researching a
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Furthermore, the only way that a policy regarding a regulation on costs would be successful, is if all states participated and followed suit within the same timeframe. The current ongoing debate is that if the Government controls the prices of drugs, then pharmaceutical companies will not be able to afford further medical research. A strategy that would work for this is eliminating pharmaceutical companies’ ability to create excessive profits, and modifying an already prosperous public medical research infrastructure. Researchers would be able to work for the government and private research could be subsidized, allowing for less price gouging. There are also complaints that this would suppress their motivation to be innovative. One solution to this issue, which was introduced by economist Joe Stiglitz and proposed by Bernie Sanders, is the idea of a prize fund. The prize fund would pay $80 billion a year, giving companies incentive to be innovative, as well as getting rid of the need for patents. (Love, 2011) This again would allow the government to abolish the monopolies that pharmaceutical companies are creating. The regulation of pharmaceutical prices would first have to originate in the legislative branch of government. This branch is headed by Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. Their main task is to make the laws. It would have to be voted for in the House of Representatives and sent over to the Senate. If the Senate approves it, then it is transferred to the executive branch, which is the President, who signs it into law. The final stages would be for the Supreme Court to uphold the new law in the judicial
Furthermore, the only way that a policy regarding a regulation on costs would be successful, is if all states participated and followed suit within the same timeframe. The current ongoing debate is that if the Government controls the prices of drugs, then pharmaceutical companies will not be able to afford further medical research. A strategy that would work for this is eliminating pharmaceutical companies’ ability to create excessive profits, and modifying an already prosperous public medical research infrastructure. Researchers would be able to work for the government and private research could be subsidized, allowing for less price gouging. There are also complaints that this would suppress their motivation to be innovative. One solution to this issue, which was introduced by economist Joe Stiglitz and proposed by Bernie Sanders, is the idea of a prize fund. The prize fund would pay $80 billion a year, giving companies incentive to be innovative, as well as getting rid of the need for patents. (Love, 2011) This again would allow the government to abolish the monopolies that pharmaceutical companies are creating. The regulation of pharmaceutical prices would first have to originate in the legislative branch of government. This branch is headed by Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. Their main task is to make the laws. It would have to be voted for in the House of Representatives and sent over to the Senate. If the Senate approves it, then it is transferred to the executive branch, which is the President, who signs it into law. The final stages would be for the Supreme Court to uphold the new law in the judicial