As the debate over drug prices heats up, it has rekindled a discussion about the private importation of prescription drugs from other nations. Some politicians like Senator John McCain and Senator Chuck Grassley have advocated for importing drugs directly from Canadian pharmacies. While this would allow Americans to pay a lower price for their medication, the pharmaceutical industry is against such a practice.
Are Canadian Pharmacies Bringing in Unsafe Drugs?
According to the pharmaceutical companies, importing prescription drugs from Canada could mean that patients are taking unsafe or counterfeit drugs. Considering Canada has programs similar to the United States Food and Drug Administration, this allegation seems flawed at best. While
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In the letter, they asked Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell to exert her power to allow patients to purchase expensive drugs at a cheaper price abroad. On a more local playing field, state governments have started to increase accessibility to drug imports. When Maine created a legal way for businesses to buy medicine and resell it in the United States, the move was challenged by PhRMA immediately. After being passed two years ago, the law was struck down in February because the state was not legally allowed to pass a law that violated federal …show more content…
President Obama spoke about his desire for Americans to be able to import medicines at lower prices than they could find in the United States. Congress also has a broad range of bipartisan support for prescription drug importation from Canada. Unfortunately, President Obama backed off his statement in order to garner favor from the pharmaceutical industry, and Congress lacks the number of votes necessary to pass a bill on the subject. Now, Democratic candidates Senator Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley and Hillary Clinton vow to take up the fight. For the millions of Americans who require affordable medication, the renewed energy in this debate comes as a sign of
Shortages of prescription drugs in the United States are a serious threat to our nation’s health and safety. At first blush, this problem appears fairly simple and straight forward to solve. In reality, there is a complex web of causation with a number of root causes contributing to drug shortages. The aim of this paper is to answer the question: How do we mitigate prescription drug shortages? This discussion is written from the standpoint of advising the current presidential administration how to address this crisis. This essay begins with a discussion regarding the background of the issue. Next, the landscape, including stakeholders in this matter is identified. Following, political, social, economic, and practical factors surrounding
Lynas, K. (2010, November/December). Canadian pharmacists journal: Universal pharmacare could cut up to $10.7 billion from Canada’s annual drug bill. Notes, 143(6), 262. doi: 10.3821/1913-701X-143.6.262
Pharmaceutical corporations charge higher prices for prescription drugs in the United States, as compared to other countries, and lower cost could be attainable through government regulation. According to Boldrine and Levine (Levine, 2008):
The prices of prescription drugs in the United States are by far the highest in the world. [1] On average, Europeans pay 40% less than Americans for the same medications. [2] Consumers have been resorting to several ways, sometimes putting themselves in harm’s way, to alleviate the burden of high prescription drug costs. Some buy their medications online or cross the borders to neighboring countries so they would be able to afford buying their needed medications. Others have resorted to the illegal act of selling their unused medications in online forums just to recover part of their expenses. Many factors contribute to the increased drug prices in the United States including research and
The rise in drug prices is causing the public to ask why this is so and why there isn’t anything being done, or what the reason could be for sky high prices. Some of the reasons include pharmaceutical companies setting their drug prices
In the business of drug production over the years, there have been astronomical gains in the technology of pharmaceutical drugs. More and more drugs are being made for diseases and viruses each day, and there are many more drugs still undergoing research and testing. These "miracle" drugs are expensive, however, and many Americans cannot afford these prices.
Throughout this paper, an attempt will be made to tie the paper to major concepts covered in the course, as well as thematic issues canvassed in the scholarly literature and grey literature. Critical analysis, rigorous evidence, and consideration of counter arguments will all be leveraged in support of strengthening the main thesis statement of this essay: the grey area of drug policy left in the wake of the federal and provincial division of powers pertaining to healthcare, in that private interests in the form of the pharmaceutical industry can serve to detract from a
In this essay, federal drug policy, and its correlation with the shortage of drugs in Canada, will be considered. In particular, the disruption of drug supply will be considered, with a specific focus on drug supply within the province of Ontario. A discussion will ensue surrounding drug pricing and policy, and the ways in which these frameworks can ultimately serve to affect the efficacy of medical treatment and the safety of patients. Finally, the paper will focus on the accountability of multiple stakeholders, at both the federal and provincial levels, in terms of supplying medically necessary drugs to Canadians. This analysis will encompass the dominant role played by pharmaceutical actors in Canada. Finally, conclusions will be drawn
Firstly, number seven states that Donald Trump will bring down the barriers for imported drugs where its less expensive and more accesseble. This specific policy has received numorous public attention because for years, perscription drugs are knowns to be expensive, the price is extremely expensive for non-insurance holders and even expensive for people who do own insurance. Because of this issues, Trump's
Patients that are unable to follow prescriptions as ordered, related to lack of coverage, escalate stress on the health care system; increasing physician and emergency department visits, which may have been avoidable if the medications were covered for all Canadians (Lexchin, 2017). There are various socio-political barriers to implementing a universal drug coverage plan in Canada. Primarily, the federal government’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), controls prescription and non-prescription prices by making comparisons of across seven selected Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries (Tang, Ghali, & Manns, 2014). However, these OECD comparative countries have higher medication prices. In fact, four of the seven OECD countries have the most expensive prices worldwide; consequently increasing Canadian prescription pricing. According to Morgan and Boothe (2016), another barrier to universal drug coverage in Canada stems from “pharmacare’s initially low place on the policy agenda” (p. 249). Healthy public policy development requires synergy between the public, policy makers, and institutions alike. If universal drug coverage has “less attention than other health policy debates” a political change is less likely to occur (p. 251).
It causes patients to skip their treatment when drugs are not affordable. It causes patients to have high stress levels. It can eventually lead patients to deal with chronic illnesses when prescription drugs are not taken. It can also affect other issues such as gender inequality, which can eventually lead individuals into poverty. Therefore, the rising cost of drugs has much impact on Canadian and it is important that this issue of drug cost in Canada should be addressed quickly. It is necessary that policy makers should take serious actions to determine the causes of high cost of drugs and should set certain routes that should be done to present price regulations as well as legislation. Overall, government should understand that lowering drug prices could protect patient’s lives as well as having citizens to live healthy. Essentially, patients should have the right to have access to their medication in order for them to stay healthy and live a happy
Increased articulation and organization of public support from a variety of stakeholders, the collision of provincial aspirations with fiscal realities and a number of upcoming strategic opportunities are pushing a discussion around national pharmacare further up the policy agenda.
A few key stakeholders include government, physicians, pharmaceutical and insurance companies, nurses and patients. The government plays a significant role in the provision of prescription drug pricing by “establishing
A lot of people, particularly the patients who need them, are beginning to wonder why American drug prices are so high. It makes sense why the pharmaceutical companies are selling at the prices they do: they are a business; and they want to, above all else, make a profit. But the real question is: what are all of the
This is obviously a huge topic in bioethics debates, especially recently after various changes in Federal Healthcare protocols. Some people depend on pharmaceuticals as a daily part of their routine, requiring some medicine or other for a condition or health issue. A prime example of this is the recent hike in the price of epinephrine shots, commonly known as the Epipen produced by Mylan Pharmaceuticals. This medication has seen a huge increase in pricing rising from roughly $50 in 2007 to over $600 this year. This is a shot used for common allergic reactions and therefore is used or carried by millions of people every day. The concern then is that pricing will get too high and patients will have to do without some medications leaving them vulnerable or even helpless in the face of certain conditions.