Reference no: EM132215382

Question: Yes! I agree completely that the cost of drugs required to treat acute and chronic illness is a huge problem among health care facilities and patient quality of life! I have known several people diagnosed with cancer and have great insurance in the beginning, only have to go on to stop working and lose insurance. What happens next? They cannot afford the treatment due to the high prices for meds. It's really sad that that is the way it is.

One of the reasons that the cost of drug prices are higher in the United States, is that the U.S. allows drug companies to set their own price for medications. In other countries, a delegated body negotiates the price, and it is loosely based upon the benefit of the drug to the patient (Kesselheim, Avorn, & Sarpatwari, 2016).

With the prevalence of chronic diseases, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) cite part of the reasoning for high drug prices is due partially to specialty drugs (Abramowitz & Cobaugh, 2016). Do you feel that with the high number of baby boomers approaching the age of needing more medical needs, big pharma companies see a supply and demand-type situation to raise the cost of drugs?

References: Abramowitz, P. W., & Cobaugh, D. J. (2016). The costs of prescription drugs in the United States: the pharmacists' voices must be heard. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.

Kesselheim, A. S., Avorn, J., & Sarpatwari, A. (2016, August 30). The high cost of prescription drugs in the United States origins and prospects for reform. JAMA, 316(8), 858-871.