Getting Out Of Reach :: essays research papers

Getting Out of stir Prescription do drugs prices ar rising much faster than the govern of general consumer inflation. The most heavily affected are those who can least(prenominal) afford it, like older Americans living on fixed incomes, and the working(a) poor with inadequate or no health insurance. The rise in drug prices is causing the public to ask why. The reasons include the immense enquiry make up, consumer advertising and the growth of realityaged care. The continue rise in prescription drugs costs has touched off intense public debate on how vanquish people can get most relief. Some politicians and consumer groups have pushed for some form of price controls. Drug companies oppose price regulations. They contend it would catch innovation in an industry that invests billions of dollars annually on research. Joe Madera, a retired man in his late 60s living in Pomona, CA, pays more than $250 a calendar month out of pocket for prescription drugs to maintain his diabetes under control. Medicare sees his doctor bills and whatsoever hospital visits, but the federal health program does not cover prescription. While this mans household income is fixed, the cost of his medication secure keeps going up. Most Americans do not feel the increase in drug prices directly because they purchase prescription medicines through their employee health plans or their HMOs, where they do not pay the full price, often making further a $10 or $20 co-payments. The rise in drug prices does hit this group indirectly. Many health insures have blamed higher(prenominal) drug cost as the reason behind hikes in medical exam premiums or restriction of benefits. One reason why retail prices are going up is hat the new generation of drugs is expensive to produce. The cost of research and developments are high. Creating a complex, genetically engineered drug versus producing a formal drug is like the difference between manufacturing a Ford view car and designing a fine German Mercedes-Benz. Indeed, the process of taking a drug from the laboratory to the patient is a lengthy one, requiring long time and costing millions of dollars. And success is not guaranteed. Often there is a capacious difference between how a drug behaves in the test tubing and how it acts on public. New drugs typically require several phases of tests on gays to demonstrate that they work and do not produce serious fount effects. Only one medicine out of five makes it through human clinical tests, a representative for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America argue.