I read an informative AARP Bulletin article regarding a 5-point plan to try to help lower prescription drug prices by Linda Marsa and thought I’d share.
Some excerpts from the article that stood out to me were:
"The plan details how to use Medicare’s negotiating power, careful importation, new approaches to generic drugs and other measures to lower prescription drug prices. In addition, the report puts a spotlight on how drugmakers use coupons and other marketing tools to keep list prices high, and details the surprising barriers that block access to lower-cost generic medicines.”1
"Drug prices continue to rise far faster than the rate of inflation. The average annual cost of a brand-name drug has more than tripled in the past decade, jumping from $1,868 in 2006 to $6,798 in 2017, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute. Older adults now take an average of 4.5 medications each month, which can add up to a total retail cost of more than $30,000 a year for brand-name drugs.”2
“... AARP believes that a combination of tactics can bring drug prices under control. These include giving the federal government the ability to negotiate when buying drugs, legalizing the safe importation of drugs sold at lower prices in other countries and capping patients’ out-of-pocket costs. A final approach is to change patent rules that allow manufacturers of brand-name pharmaceuticals to freeze out competition from generic alternatives that could lower prices.”2
To read the entire article click on the web link below:
https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2019/5-point-prescription-drug-plan.html
1. Source: https://press.aarp.org/2019-5-2-may-aarp-bulletin-the-fight-to-lower-prescription-drug-prices
2. Source: https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2019/5-point-prescription-drug-plan.html
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