Although cutting drug prices has become one of the rare issues to be supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, U.S. drug prices have been rising rapidly. As of the end of the first half of this year, 3,400 drugs have seen significant drug price increases, compared to 2,900 drugs during the same period a year ago. Among the 3,400 drugs, prices have increased by an average of 10.5 percent, a pace that exceeds U.S. dollar inflation by fivefold, while some outliers saw price increases as steep as 879 percent. That has prompted promises by the U.S. government to address the situation.

According to CBS reports, Rx Savings Solutions, a consultant to health plans and employers, the prices of 3,400 drugs in the U.S. rose by an average of 10.5 percent, of which 41 drugs rose more than 100 percent, while prices for the antidepressant Prozac rose by an astonishing 879 percent.

The problem of high drug prices in the U.S. has been under increasing public scrutiny. According to findings by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan public health care policy research organization, four out of five Americans feel that current drug prices are unreasonable, with one-third of patients indicating that they have avoided using prescription drugs due to high costs. Rx Savings Solutions CEO Michael Rea said that when a person’s life is on the line, drug companies would have much greater flexibility in setting drug prices.

The Trump Administration last month announced that drug companies would be required to display drug prices in their TV ads, in a bid to encourage drug price transparency. However, Michael Rea remains skeptical of the effectiveness of the measure, which is set to take effect this summer.

【2019-07-02 / The Liberty Times】