Inflation. A term typically used to describe the cause of rising gas prices, however, now over the past decade can easily be transferable to describe the rising prescription drug costs.
The bleak reality, as I am sure the large portion of Americans still paying out of pocket for prescription drugs have become brutally aware of, is that the pharmaceutical industry has exhibited an unheard of inflation in the cost of drugs they produce.
The mainstays of treatments for diseases such as cancer, mental illness, hepatitis C and high cholesterol have always been at the forefront of the discussion for the inflating prices of life-altering drugs1. Yet, the pharmaceutical industries are now inflating the prices of older, less talked about drugs, leading to a potentially unsustainable health care system.
Before I get ahead of myself, I do want to note that the process of developing/testing/approving a drug for use in the United States is a very lengthy and expensive process–leading to high prices initially to help offset the cost of drug development (this is normal). If you want to read more about the details of drug development read this… it might give you a better idea why in some instances drugs are expensive, and other cases where drugs are simply overpriced.
Relating this to the theme of microbiology, the drug Cycloserine customarily used to treat multi-drug resistant strains of Tuberculosis, has increased in price from an already expensive value of $480 U.S. dollars to a staggering $10,800 for a one month supply2. This drug was developed in the late 1950’s1, well past its initial need to fund its expenses created during its research and development phase.
I consequently ask you, is there by any means an ethical justification for the increase in prices? With the largest population carrying Tuberculosis endemically being well below the poverty line of their countries, I see this increase as unjustifiable and can chalk it up to nothing but sheer greed.
Alas, I have found that the largest up tick in prices are resulting from selfishness within the pharma arena. If the events play out at continuum, I fear that the legitimacy of the health care system we have in place will fall further into the hole it has already dug itself and the American’s who need these drugs the most will no longer have a viable option for obtaining them.
I see the only potential fix to be a two-fold approach. One, directly regulate the pharmaceutical company’s ability to alter their prices—ultimately to prevent what has obviously become profiteering. Two, revert back to a pre-Obamacare health insurance system to generate competition between insurance companies. This would put an end to the majority of the population paying completely out of pocket (because of such high deductibles) for the medicines they need and disallow lawmakers influenced by big pharmaceutical companies to ultimately decide our fate regarding health care/the drugs that are covered.
References
- Pollack, A. “Drug Goes From $13.50 a tablet to $750, Overnight.” The New York Times. 21 September 2015. Online. Accessed 7 November 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/business/a-huge-overnight-increase-in-a-drugs-price-raises-protests.html?_r=0
- Cycloserine. Drugs.com. Online. 3 November 2016. Accessed 7 November 2016. https://www.drugs.com/mtm/cycloserine.html