Increasing Prescription Prices Harm More Than Heal

The Increasing Prescription Prices Harm Health More Than Heal

You walk up to the pharmacy and give your last name to the pharmacist so you can get your medications. You’re just picking up two prescriptions for your child’s asthma, no big deal. Then, you hear the price. Startled by the triple digits, you drop your wallet. Three hundred bucks for two medications, is the pharmacist kidding? Unfortunately, he is not. The price of prescription drugs has sky-rocketed over the past 20 years. Why? It’s all about monopoly, and not the kind with the iron and the shoe. Large United States pharmaceutical companies have control over the selling of prescription drugs, and they like to keep their prices high. The increasing prices of prescription drugs causes many American citizens to choose between eating and getting the medications they need, forces state governments against the Federal Drug Administration and even some individuals to look to foreign countries for assistance.

Bread or a heart attack? Turkey or high blood pressure? The high prices of prescription medications are forcing many Americans to make the choice between two very different products, but both needed for maintaining their health. According to a report put out by the Center for Studying Health System Change, between 2001 and 2003, the number of Americans that faced problems with buying prescriptions went from 12.0 percent to 12.8 percent. For adults with chronic conditions, it changed from 16.5 to 18.3 percent (Reed, 1). United States citizens are struggling to purchase the medications needed for their health. So, why is the American government allowing its own citizens to either eat or not get the treatment they need when they’re sick? Many pharmaceutical companies argue that money for research is the problem. In a report from Harvard Medical School, it estimates that $49.3 billion was spent by drug companies towards research in 2004 (Golan, 39). That’s a chunk of change for any company to handle. Yet, the report also states the estimated amount spent on marketing in the year prior. About $25.3 billion was spent by big drug companies towards advertisement of their newest medications (Golan, 39). That’s over half of what was spent in 2004 on research. Should advertisement and profit be put before research and development? No. United States citizens are not receiving all of their vital medications because these companies care more for their profit, than the consumers they are supposed to help. Profit, not health, is on the large pharmaceutical companies agenda.

Many state governments have decided to take action against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the large pharmaceutical companies. The Governor of Wisconsin recently posted a website that encourages Wisconsin citizens to purchase their prescriptions from another country (“Governor”, 1). Many other states are attempting to do the same. In a report by Wyn Snow, a program put together by the mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts is discussed, and the people wanting to learn the mayor’s program. Springfield now buys drugs from Canada for city workers and retirees (2). The mayor has had states interested in his program; Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Connecticut all want to learn how Springfield has developed their money-saving plan. With state governments gearing up to face off