Medicare Co : The Rise Of Drugs

Initially, from 2000 to 2001 the amount of money that was spent on prescription drugs had risen by nearly 20 percent as the cost of medication also rose. Lawmakers looked at different strategies such as including the drugs in medicare or having them be sold over the counter as insurers and consumers struggled to pay (Steinhauer). This substantial increase in drug cost did not go unnoticed. As the rising costs of drugs were passed onto insurers, they looked for solutions. One large California health insurer, Wellpoint Health Networks, saw a solution in having more drugs sold without prescriptions. The California insurer argued that top allergy drugs should be made more widely available and cheaper, and selling Claritin, Allegra, and Zyrtec, three top allergy drugs, over the counter would accomplish both of those things (Petersen “A Push to Sell”). Manufacturers argued against them, saying that such a move would be dangerous to the consumer, forcing them to diagnose themselves rather than have a professional do it for them. Some news in pharmaceuticals, however, had to do with criminal activities. The United States Food and Drug Administration investigated multiple cases of counterfeit drugs. In each of the three cases, the drugs were extremely expensive, one used by AIDS patients, another a growth hormone for people who cannot produce enough

For decades, a person’s socioeconomic status or SES has affected the healthcare that people receive due to race and “wealth”. This problem has plagued American society because of these factors leading to many receiving inadequate healthcare. All of these factors for someone’s SES has changed a lot in the healthcare domain that is unfair to many who are not the “ideal”. Due to this the perception, experiences with healthcare waver and are different between the stages of these SES’s. No matter the status of a person they should receive the same amount of care, treatment, and closer.

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 costs of prescription medicines affects all sectors of the health care industry, including private insurers, public programs, and patients. Spending on prescription drugs continues to be an important health care concern, particularly in light of rising pharmaceutical costs, the aging population, and increased use of costly specialty drugs. In recent history, increases in prescription drug costs have outpaced other categories of health care spending, rising rapidly throughout the latter half of the 1990s and early 2000s. (Kaiseredu.org, 2012).

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.

One of the most controversial issues in politics today is healthcare, specifically ObamaCare, also known as Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has effectively insured millions of low-income American households. Under the ObamaCare, Medicaid has been expanded to states that want to participate. It plays an exceptionally crucial role in the healthcare coverage, and access for rural communities as they are more likely to “be poorer, less likely to have insurance, and less intense users of medical services overall” (Richards et al., 2016, p. 573). A study conducted by the Health Services Research found that Medicaid patients received appointments nearly 80% of the time in rural areas, but only 60% in nonrural areas (Richards et al., 2016, p. 570).

Social structure, such as education, job, and location along with insurance status also influence health care utilization. These factors almost always have an impact on each other. An individual with an education is more likely to get a good job, and therefore have insurance benefits. Availability of health care services correlates with location. Those who live in certain areas are more likely to have health care services readily available. On the other hand, there are areas with plenty of well educated individuals who have good jobs and insurance benefits, but because of their location access to health care services is limited. Changes in insurance have also impacted health care utilization. Cuts in payments combined with an increase in paperwork have been met with unwillingness by health care providers to participate with government programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, this also affects health care utilization for those who are poor or living with disabilities (Barsukiewicz et al., 2010).

A key factor affecting access to care is economic inequality. Many racial/ethnic groups are considered to be of low socioeconomic status in the United States. When one has to worry about food and housing, health is not considered a priority. Lack of health insurance is a huge problem that many people face. The inequalities in income means less money can be put towards doctor’s visits and medications. Research done by Shi, LeBrun, Zhu, and Tsai (2011) shows

The United States is plagued with stark health disparities across its communities (Institute of Medicine, 2013). Defined as the “variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between socioeconomic and/or geographically defined population groups,” disparities describe the inequality of access to basic health services in America (HSRIC, 2016). Over the past decade, health reform has attempted to address this issue of health inequality by strategizing to insure more people and provide increased access to care.

Medicare Part D is also known as the drug plan of Medicare. It was enacted on January 1, 2006 and became available to millions of patients on Medicare. Medicare is for those individuals who have been working in the United States and have turned 65 or who are disabled.

As populations around the world continue to grow, it becomes more evident that health services provided worldwide are not growing at the same rate and instead will continue to put further strain on existing health disparities, and create new ones. In the United States alone, access to healthcare is a crucial topic of discussion principally as the American government continues to create initiatives and legislation such as the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Although, the United States has come a long way to legally create access to care to all its citizens, there is a disparity in the number of individuals that in actuality receive healthcare due to the geography of cities and the nation.

think that Medicare is one of the greatest and most important programs for US society that was ever created. Followed by National Defense and Social Security program, Medicare is the third largest program in the Federal budget. In 2013 cost of Medicare was $492 billion which is 14 percent of total federal spending. According official information by the end of 2014 49,435,610 people received health coverage through Medicare program.

In 2014, prescription drug costs made up 9.8% of total annual health care expenditures; retail prescription drug spending accounted for $297.7 billion (Hemphill, 2017). The need for prescription medication will continue to increase as the population ages. Chronic disease is also on the rise, and the pharmaceutical industry is under pressure to innovate. Healthcare cost are out of control, and medication seems to be the only solution to try and contain the costs. Doctors no longer focus on teaching patients how to care for themselves naturally. There are many herbs and supplements that can take the place of a prescription, but doctors write prescriptions for their own personal gain.

If congress would focus on making generic drugs available the cost of prescriptions would not be as high, and Americans could save approximately $35 billion during the next decade. Compared to $72 a month for brand name drugs, generic versions average $17 a month or 25 to 89 percent lower. Under current legislation original manufacturers of a drug may file multiple lawsuits to prevent other companies from producing a generic version of their drug after the patent runs out. Each lawsuit that is filed delays the production of the generic version by 30 months. If the new bill is passed only one lawsuit will be allowed which would speed the production of generic drugs. The proposed law would also decrease the time it

Federal antitrust enforcers are investigating whether a multinational pharmaceutical company has attempted to minimize the impact of generic competition to one of its most profitable prescription drugs. This antidepressant drug is the company 's best seller, with sales last year of $2.11 billion, representing a 22% increase from the year before. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is conducting an investigation to determine whether the company engaged in activities to prevent generic alternatives to the prescription drug from entering the market. Specifically, the FTC is challenging a practice among brand-name and generic drug manufacturers to agree to