Lately, not a week goes by without hearing another story about the rising costs of prescription drugs.From the deplorable price gouging of companies like Mylan on life saving meds such as the EpiPen to the nearly unaffordable $100,000 Hepatitis C cure – Harvoni by Gilead, prescription drugs are becoming increasingly unaffordable for many Americans. Many factors contribute to these costs.
Pharmaceuticals have played a vital role in improving the health of patients worldwide (full disclosure – I work extensively with industry as a researcher, advisor and a speaker). In cardiology, we are blessed with many life saving compounds we can offer our patients. Without a doubt, the development of new drugs is an expensive endeavor and the majority of the research funding comes from industry and not the public sector.
Companies then appropriately seek a return on their investment. What seems unfair is that the American public is made to pay for the worldwide profits these companies seek. The same drug in the US is often sold for half the price in Canada or a tenth of the cost in India! Medicare is the largest purchaser of drugs in the world yet unlike other countries our government does not negotiate price discounts.
This needs to change.To complicate matters Medicare prescription plans have a coverage gap often referred to as the “donut hole”. In 2016 this starts after the first $3310 of drug cost. That coverage gap ends once your total drug costs reaches the $4850 out of pocket maximum.
