The Pros And Cons Of Prescription Drugs

1064 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Timeline of the rise in the price of medication

The current unprecedented skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs is a historic event in healthcare. The privatization of healthcare has arguably moved the health care system from patient-centric to money-centric. The recent unsettling examples of price hikes for drugs that combat AIDs as well as EpiPen brand epinephrine have left many consumers wondering why these prices are so arbitrary. The conversation between Government and big pharmaceuticals is not promising when looking for reprieve in the cost of life saving drugs. Free market capitalism dictates that the government should play a small role in the privatized health care system; however, the government is also a purchaser of pharmaceutical goods due to entitlement programs. It is not unimaginable for the government to place restrictions on these corporations that are exploiting the ill for more profit. In the analytical article published by Journal of Health Economics, Can WalMart make us healthier? Prescription drug prices and healthcare utilization, Florencia Borrescio-Higa examines how reducing the price of prescriptions that treat common chronic issues reduce hospitalizations in the surrounding area. Borrescio-Higa found an inverse correlation between prescription drug costs and hospitalizations. The common factor appears to …show more content…

Per capita spending on prescription drugs in America is far greater than any other country. Kesselheim goes on to say that this is a natural result of America’s free market approach to healthcare resulting in monopolies. These healthcare monopolies are not held accountable for their high drug prices. The claims that these costs can be justified through research and development is rubbish, according to

Show More
Related

  • Dr. John Abramson Overdosed America Summary

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abramsons points are well taken, and it truly is a shame that the medical industry has become a business. In my opinion, if the pharmaceutical industry was taken out of the hands of the capitalist marketplace and given the to the government, it would become less of a business. Prescription drugs are not ordinary consumer goods; they are products that can ultimately save lives. If a money-oriented company controls these products, it is inevitable selling the drug would become a greater priority than actually creating a beneficial drug. Which as a result, will to the creation many well-marketed yet ineffective

    Read More

  • Corruption of the Pharmaceutical Industry in America

    2937 Words  | 6 Pages

    "In the past two decades or so, health care has been commercialized as never before, and professionalism in medicine seems to be giving way to entrepreneurialism," commented Arnold S. Relman, professor of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School (Wekesser 66). This statement may have a great deal of bearing on reality. The tangled knot of insurers, physicians, drug companies, and hospitals that we call our health system is not as unselfish and focused on the patients' needs as people would like to think. Pharmaceutical companies are particularly ruthless, many of them spending millions of dollars per year to convince doctors to prescribe their drugs and to convince consumers that their specific brand of drug is needed in order to cure their ailments. For instance, they may present symptoms that are perfectly harmless, and lead potential citizens to believe that, because of these symptoms, they are "sick" and in need of medication.

    Read More

  • Medicare Part D

    1800 Words  | 4 Pages

    The United States of America accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, yet as a nation, we devour over 50% of the world’s pharmaceutical medication and around 80% of the world’s prescription narcotics (American Addict). The increasing demand for prescription medication in America has evoked a national health crisis in which the government and big business benefit at the expense of the American public.

    Read More

  • Prescription Drug Advertising Pros And Cons

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads are dangerous and can have serious effects on the health of the general public. In the article “Pros & Cons Arguments: ‘Should prescription drugs be advertised directly to consumers?’”, the pros and cons of the advertising of prescription drugs are compared. The negative aspects of these ads outweigh that of the positives. DTC prescription drug ads misinform patients, promote over-usage, and pressure medical providers. The counter side argues that these ads inform patients, create a positive impact on patient compliance with medication, and cause patients to confront their doctors.

    Read More

  • Health Care Proposal Essay

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    The U.S. spending on health care is an outlier compared to other industrialized countries. On an individual basis heath care in the U.S is approximately double what other industrialized countries spend. On a total spend basis, the $3 trillion currently consumed in this sector represents the world’s fifth-largest economy. This high spending on healthcare is unsustainable in the long term. Businesses, individual consumers, and the government are consequently not insulated from the shrinking economic growth due to the ramifications of the high healthcare costs. In a global competitive market the U.S. business will lag behind other industrialized countries unless these high healthcare costs are curtailed. In addition, individuals, even those with insurance face the grim prospect of bankruptcy due to the high cost of care.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451: The Overuse Of Prescription Drugs In America

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although writing a prescription may be an easy way to put a bandaid on a problem, people tend to forget that medication can’t be responsible for curing our nation. Slowly we are becoming a country where pills are handed out like candy, causing a severe series of negative effects and downfalls. Ray Bradbury, the author of the award winning novel Fahrenheit 451, is definitely in agreement. In 1951, when the novel was written, Bradbury was able to make the prediction that the innocent use of medication would soon turn into an extreme drug epidemic, and unfortunately he wasn’t wrong. The overuse of drugs in the United States, such as mental illness medication

    Read More

  • Drug Patents

    1902 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yu, Winnie and Joel Hay. 1999. “Drug Patents and Prices: Can we Achieve Better Outcomes?” Measuring the Prices of Medical Treatments. Pages 27-28.

    Read More

  • Prescription Stimulant Misuse Among College Students

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prescription stimulant misuse can be defined as taking more of the medication than prescribed, or as taking the medication without a prescription. There have been many arguments on the reasons why there has been an increasing amount of college students who misuse prescription stimulants. Some psychologists argue that the misuse of prescription stimulants amongst college students is caused by stress brought upon by final exams and hard curriculum. However, other psychologists argue that the misuse of prescription stimulants is becoming more common amongst American college students for other reasons such as: differences amongst brain activity in college students, and misconceptions about the true risks of misusing prescription stimulants amongst

    Read More

  • The Rise in the Price of Prescription Drugs

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prescription drug prices rose three times faster than inflation in the decade between 1981 and 1991, making the pharmaceutical industry the nation's most profitable business. Prescription drugs even exceeded the rapidly rising inflation rate for all other medical services. They now represent at least 10% of all the medical costs in the United States.1

    Read More

  • Uninsured Health Care Essay

    1401 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to fully understand the uninsured and underinsured problem that hospital administrators face the cause must be examined. The health outcomes of uninsured individuals are generally worse than those who are insured. Uninsured persons are more likely to experience avoidable hospitalizations, diagnosed at later stages of disease, hospitalized on an emergency or urgent basis, and more seriously ill upon hospitalization (Simpson, 2002) Because the uninsured often lack an ongoing relationship with a health-care provider, they are less likely to receive preventive care and diagnostic tests (Kemper, 2002). Many corporations balance their budget through cost cuts and other moves, but have been slammed with an increasing load of uninsured patients, coupled with reduced payments from government and private insurance programs. In 2000, 564,476 uninsured patients came through Health and Hospitals Corporations health care centers, a 30 percent increase from 1996. In the same period, Congress reduced Medicare reimbursements to hospitals, while Medicaid reimbursements to primary care clinics remained basicall...

    Read More

  • Why Drug Prices In America Are So High

    251 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Economist, a highly respected magazine that was started in the mid-1800s, in their article, Why Drug Prices in America Are so High, published on their website, the Economist, addresses the topic absurd drug costs in America and constructs that it is legal for the companies to raise the prices. They support this claim by stating that American companies can “ set whatever official price they like” (Why Drug Prices in America Are so High), and by saying, “Insurers and the government then whittle down that price using methods that vary from one type of patient to the next” (Why Drug Prices in America Are so High). The Economist’s purpose is to clarify why the drug prices are over the top-in the opinion of the general public-in order to calm

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Drug Legalization

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    Drug legalization is an end to government-enforced prohibition of certain substances. It has sparked a great debate in the U.S. over the past couple of years. With two states, Colorado and Washington, already completely eliminating the illegalization of marijuana, should the rest of the country legalize the use of marijuana and other drugs too? There are many advantages and disadvantages of legalizing marijuana, but other drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy, etc., should they be legalized? Are the health issues too much of a risk? The question is; which will outweigh each other? In my own opinion, I think the only drug that should be legalized is marijuana. Although only legalizing it to an extent with boundaries and restrictions. Many people in this world have disorders that can be treated with the use of medicinal marijuana. Would the people using it for recreational purposes overthrow the opportunity for future medicinal marijuana users? Above all, the profit from legalizing it would help solve other problems far more important than arresting drug abusers.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Pharmaceutical Industry

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    In recent years’ health reform has been a driving force in the United States political system. If you watch the news, you will understand how citizens, the government, or the economy are or might be affected by some sort of change in medical regulation. One of these hot topic issues is the cost of prescription drugs. Every major drug market besides the United States regulates the price of drugs in some way (Abbott and Vernon). By the United States not doing so, many believe it opens consumers up to being exploited by large pharmaceutical companies.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Drug Legalization

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Pros and Cons of Drug Legalization Should drugs be legalized? Drugs are resources that are capable of affecting the American economy in many ways—both positively and negatively. Drugs often have a bad name, even though they help us everyday in medical cases. and the drugs with the worst reputations are not the most abused drugs. One may benefit from the legalization of drugs in many ways, while others would suffer greatly.

    Read More

  • Essay On Us Healthcare 2050

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    The cost of US health care has been steadily increasing for many years causing many Americans to face difficult choices between health care and other priorities in their lives. Health economists are bringing to light the tradeoffs which must be considered in every healthcare decision (Getzen, 2013, p. 427). Therefore, efforts must be made to incite change which constrains the cost of health care without creating adverse health consequences. As the medical field becomes more business oriented, there will be more of a shift in focus toward the costs and benefits, which will make medicine more like the rest of the economy (Getzen, 2013, p. 439).

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Prescription Drugs

Open Document