Lowering Cost and Increasing Access to Drugs Without Hurting Innovation

US drug costs have reached unacceptable and unsustainable levels. Evidence shows that “financial toxicity” arising from drug costs and other medical expenses is reducing financial security for many families and prompting difficult choices, as patients defer or forgo therapies they cannot afford. In stark contrast, comparable countries negotiate drug prices and use drugs more effe ctively. Recent data suggest that other high-income countries have an average life expectancy approximately 3 to 5 years longer than that of the United States, which ranks last among high-income countries and is losing ground compared with peer nations. Although drug prices account for only part of these trends, they nevertheless add to disparities that dominate the trajectories of US health outcomes.
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research