Posted by Michael Wonder on 04 Mar 2020
Drug shortages in the United States. Are some prices too low?
3 March 2020 - The US public identified lowering prescription drug prices as the top health priority for Congress in 2019.
That nearly all of the 2020 presidential candidates have introduced proposals for lowering drug prices points to the salience of this issue. The focus of debate over drug prices has largely been on prices that are too high. But what if some drug prices are too low? That is the concern raised in a recent report from the US FDA on drug shortages.
The FDA suggests that for some drugs, manufacturers lack incentives to enter the market or invest in manufacturing quality, ultimately resulting in shortages. The somewhat paradoxical conclusion of the FDA is that the United States should pay more for some drugs to prevent shortages.
