Week 7 Discussion Post
Click on the following links of the video Ihe Other Drug War and view each part: Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
After having read the required readings from your text and viewing the links, please write a minimum 5oo word essay addressing the following: Discuss a significant point from 2 of the videos, and contrast each point with 1 significant point from the Speights 2013 Article and 1 from Chapter 3 Be sure to address this weeks readings in your assignment. You need to make at least 3 direct references (with page numbers listed, part# of video, etc.) to the video, text, or supplemental reading. Bring the information into your discussion to show understanding. Do not just make a passing reference with no discussion.
debated between the pharmaceutical companies and the consumers. From watching PBS the Other Drug War Part 1, it was learned that Seniors are the biggest buyers of prescription drugs. Although they only make up only 12% of the American population, they buy 1/3 of all prescribed medications. Costs from buying these drugs can reach up to $600 a month and even more, depending on how much medication is required. Due to the extreme costs, some American seniors travel to Canada to buy their drugs as they are much cheaper. When Medicaid and Medicare were introduced, Medicaid covered the cost of
drugs and there being no coverage for it. The Speights 2013 Article states that prescription drug costs are higher in the U.S. than in any other country and that second place is 33% lower in cost. This is due to other countries having fixed price limits on the prescription drugs and allowing the pharmaceutical companies to determine their own prices based on what they believed to be appropriate prices.
Pharmaceutical companies believe that if fixed pricing is introduced, then the innovation of new drugs will cease. From The Other Drug War Part 2, according to Gill martin, the fact that Amercians are spending more money on drugs now than ever before is a sign that their research is a success rather than corporate greed. However, the common argument from consumers is that why would you invent something that the ordinary person cannot afford? Although making the drugs themselves is mostly inexpensive, the research that goes into creating a new drug is very costly. The Speights 2013 article quotes Dr. Josh Bloom who states that 'with the American Council on Science and Health estimates that
billion'. However, only one out of every 50 drugs that start down the development path actually make it to market. Furthermore, Only 3 products that reach the market place out of 10 will recoup all the costs of development. Although this is the case, the fortunes 5o0 list still shows that Pharmaceutical
they need to be able to pay for all of the drugs that fail, however critics argue they are still far too profitable. On average, they reap about 18.5% profit on