Is There a Cure for High Drug Prices?
But, according to the Consumer Reports article, “Is There a Cure for High Drug Prices?”, the government already subsidizes about 38% of drug research in the form of grants. With these grants, I believe, should come stipulations on how the drugs are priced. This, in short, would involve coming up with a formula for the true cost of the drugs and an acceptable profit margin. The Consumer Reports article points out how the true cost of the drug may not be so straight forward. Production and distribution costs are simple enough, but research, marketing and advertising are a little more complicated. In my opinion, the government should determine about how much companies, on average spend on this, and come up with a constant that the companies can add on to the cost of production and distribution. From there, it’s a matter of deciding what profit margin most pharmaceutical companies will find acceptable. Also, the BBC’s “What’s a Fair Price for a Drug” reports that Turing Pharmaceuticals claims to have a program in place where people who cannot afford an expensive drug can get it for free. I think programs like these are great and should be encouraged and verified. That is, they should be incentivized, perhaps in the form of grants, and overseen to make sure they are functioning properly and not leaving anyone behind. I also liked an idea in the Consumer Reports article. Basically they suggest opening up foreign trade in pharmaceuticals with reputable sources in Canada and Europe. This would increase the supply of medical drugs by increasing completion and hopefully lower prices overall. Discussion two: In a quick summary of my entire sentiment: The medical industry should not be privatized or profited by any industry period. Health care, along with education, should be out of the hands of capitalists and in the control of government care. The profits of a few, at the expense of many is obviously a trait of any free market, especially with the growth of trade capabilities in this global market, but aspects of public welfare should be protected by the nations that govern them. In this scenario Pharmacy company X has spent 90% of its profits on research and development. Although it makes sense for a company to want to maximize its profits in order to make up for the opportunity cost, there are clear moral complications. In an idealistic situation, the government would provide and pay for the employees, the scientists, the facility and ultimately the research and development of the medicinal products and services themselves. Therefore making the need for making justified profit unnecessary. The idea that a medicine′s price needs to be justified in order to satisfy the market is an immoral decision and comes with poor understanding of the community and or a poor moral compass Pharmaceutical industry leaders like Martin S. corrupt the very nature of the products they are claiming will heal civilians. They hide behind the idea that excess profits will only help and further research and development. There is also the idea that increasing the price will create a market of competitors that will ultimately lower the price. The collateral damage of such a long term solution will only continue to take it′s toll on the consumers. Again the pharmaceutical leaders are all ultimately hiding from the reality of the situation. The fruits of scientific development in health care should not be exclusive to the highest building industry. Although economists as well as most business professionals may find themselves in crossroads with ethics at some point in time, you can only hope that the decision wont effect millions.
