Are you aware of what the new administration means for drug prices? Find out more about how new legislation can affect medicine costs in this week’s latest Audicus blog!
On January 31, 2017, President Donald Trump met with the leaders of the pharmaceutical industry at White House. Since President Trump’s meeting with pharmaceutical industry leaders and his continued critique of drug prices, the price of drugs has actually increased with regards to Mylan N.N., S&P 500 and SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF.
SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals shares have plummeted almost 9% after President Trump criticized drug companies and declared that bidding could bring drug prices down.
President Trump continues to mention the current crisis regarding drug costs in the U.S. and may take further actions to help lower the cost of drugs in the U.S. President Trump had previously advised Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
Solutions to the drug price conflict may actually be found abroad, as democrats and progressives have been trying to convince President Trump to sign a new bill allowing for the importation of relatively inexpensive medication from Canada.
The new bill, called the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act, is supported by noteworthy politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Elijah Cummings.
The difference between American and Canadian drug prices as well as the current drug crisis become very apparent when we actually look at the numbers.
Abilify, an antidepressant, costs $2,852 in the U.S. compared to $546 in Canada. Januvia, which is used to treat diabetes, is sold for $1,121 in the U.S. but only $369 in Canada.
Furthermore, prices of many brand-name medications have increased almost 130% faster than inflation did in 2015. 75% of adults aged 50 or older regularly take one form of prescription medication and over 80% take at least two forms of prescription medication.
The average cost of a yearly supply of prescription medicine has increased more than 100% since the year 2006 to over $11,000 in the year 2013.
Although the bill has been introduced before with limited success, the mounting support for affordable medicine may allow it to be an official piece of legislation in the near future.
One group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, opposes the bill due to worries over patient safety. Senator Cory Booker, a potential candidate for the presidency in 2020, voted against the bill because the wording of the bill does not allow for substantial drug safety.
Despite opposition to the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act specifically, many signs point towards new measures for securing affordable medicine through some change in or addition of legislation.
These changes to drug prices due to the new administration can have a large effect on the affordability and accessibility of drugs to help treat hearing loss. Follow new developments to the administration to find out how they affect drug prices and other aspects of healthcare!