Prescription drug prices in America are extraordinarily high. According to the Rand Corporation, drug prices are 2.56 times higher than in other nations. There is a simple reason. Andrew Mulcahy, a senior health policy researcher at Rand, commented on the data: “Brand-name drugs are the primary driver of the higher prescription drug prices in the United States.”
President Biden plans to partially remedy the problem. This would include allowing Medicare to negotiate prices. However, that may not have much of an effect on drug prices until 2025. Biden framed the issue this way: “It’s safe to say that all of us can agree that prescription drugs are outrageously expensive in this country.” It was an acknowledgment of the fact that many Americans cannot afford the drugs they need to treat a wide variety of medical conditions.
High tech companies have started to offer solutions. Some use systems that collect data from tens of thousands of pharmacies to steer people in the direction of the lowest prices. Others allow people to report what they have paid so that the information can be shared with others.
One of the latest attempts to lower drug prices uses very little technology. One of America’s richest people has set up a system to sell expensive drugs at large discounts. Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company was launched on January 19. According to Becker’s Hospital Review it “produces low-cost versions of high-cost generic drugs.” Becker’s identified 27 drugs with savings of over $100 based on this system. There are discounts available on hundreds of drugs.
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The drug with the biggest price cut is albendazole (generic for Albenza), which comes in tablet form. The retail price for the drug is $6,565.20. The program cuts this by $6,112.28 to $453.
Albendazole is an antiworm medicine that, according to Drug.com, “prevents newly hatched insect larvae (worms) from growing or multiplying in your body.” Among its side effects is a risk to unborn children. It also can cause headaches, fever and nausea.
Click here to see which drugs Americans are running short on.
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