High Cost of Prescription Drugs
The United States is unique among industrial countries because it is the only country that fails to protect its citizens from discriminatory pricing of prescription drugs. For much too long, American pharmaceutical companies have been getting away with overcharging American citizens. Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Italy have all negotiated pricing with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of their citizens for lower prices for brand-name drugs. Due to the negotiated prices, the citizens in these countries pay significantly less for prescription drugs, which substantially reduces the total medical cost within these countries. Canada has established a Patent Medicine Price Review Board that enforces guidelines that determine the maximum prices which manufacturers can sell brand-name drugs. This review board has developed a pricing system for brand-name drugs that average between 35 percent to 40 percent below United States prices. In the United States, corporations, employees, and the economy are the affected stake holders. These groups are paying substantially higher fees for health care coverage than other countries and the increased costs are directly attributed to the higher price of prescription dru
The consumer confidence levels decline which also has a direct affect on the economy. Should the pharmaceutical companies develop pricing strategies similar to what has been used in other countries that have instituted price controls?In regards to the Judeo-Christian principles, the pharmaceutical industries' priority is to achieve a material gain without regard to the consumer. Although they have made this argument on many occasions, they have never produced data that would indicate the quality and standards used to produce their drugs for Canada and other countries do not meet the FDA requirements of the United States. They are attempting to claim that the pharmaceutical drugs they sold to Canada do not meet the high standards establish by the United States Federal Drug Administration (FDA). The higher medical premiums the insurers are demanding from the corporation are partially being passed on to the employees. The pricing guidelines developed in Canada could be easily applied, resulting in consumers spending less on prescriptions, and potentially using the savings to purchase other goods that would stimulate the economy. The pharmaceutical companies' decision to price their products higher in the United States is purely profit driven. Health care cost is the fastest growing expenditure for many employers and businesses. Their products are safe as long as they are administered per the stated directions and, as such, they comply with compensatory justice. Therefore, importing the drugs from Canada to the United States could be dangerous to the public. The pharmaceutical companies would also reflect accountability by showing moral purity. If pharmaceutical companies followed this practice, there would be impartiality towards various pricing strategies for various countries and due process would be followed in making proper pricing decisions. Because of the additional expenses employees are absorbing due to higher prescription cost, their discretionary spending also declines which adversely affects the economy. There is also another correlation with the economy versus consumer spending.
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