Making Medicines Affordable
Making Medicines Affordable

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2018-03-01

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 0309468086

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Thanks to remarkable advances in modern health care attributable to science, engineering, and medicine, it is now possible to cure or manage illnesses that were long deemed untreatable. At the same time, however, the United States is facing the vexing challenge of a seemingly uncontrolled rise in the cost of health care. Total medical expenditures are rapidly approaching 20 percent of the gross domestic product and are crowding out other priorities of national importance. The use of increasingly expensive prescription drugs is a significant part of this problem, making the cost of biopharmaceuticals a serious national concern with broad political implications. Especially with the highly visible and very large price increases for prescription drugs that have occurred in recent years, finding a way to make prescription medicinesâ€"and health care at largeâ€"more affordable for everyone has become a socioeconomic imperative. Affordability is a complex function of factors, including not just the prices of the drugs themselves, but also the details of an individual's insurance coverage and the number of medical conditions that an individual or family confronts. Therefore, any solution to the affordability issue will require considering all of these factors together. The current high and increasing costs of prescription drugsâ€"coupled with the broader trends in overall health care costsâ€"is unsustainable to society as a whole. Making Medicines Affordable examines patient access to affordable and effective therapies, with emphasis on drug pricing, inflation in the cost of drugs, and insurance design. This report explores structural and policy factors influencing drug pricing, drug access programs, the emerging role of comparative effectiveness assessments in payment policies, changing finances of medical practice with regard to drug costs and reimbursement, and measures to prevent drug shortages and foster continued innovation in drug development. It makes recommendations for policy actions that could address drug price trends, improve patient access to affordable and effective treatments, and encourage innovations that address significant needs in health care.

Prescription Drugs
Prescription Drugs

Author: Laura A. Dummit

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2008-06

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13: 1437901352

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In 2000, as the Congress considered adding a prescription drug (PD) benefit to Medicare, there was increased interest in understanding the ways that gov¿t. purchasers have controlled their costs for PD and whether these methods can be used to reduce PD costs for Medicare beneficiaries. One proposal would allow Medicare beneficiaries to purchase PD from pharmacies at the same prices that are available to fed. purchasers or state Medicaid programs. This report provides information on: the fed. drug price discounts available to fed. and non-fed. purchasers and the size of those discounts; and the potential effects that extending such discounts to non-fed. purchasers may have on outpatient drug prices paid by fed. and non-fed. purchasers. Illus.

Competition and the Cost of Medicare's Prescription Drug Program
Competition and the Cost of Medicare's Prescription Drug Program

Author: Anna Cook

Publisher:

Published: 2014-09-03

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9781457856631

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The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (the Medicare Modernization Act, or MMA) substantially expanded the federal Medicare program by creating the prescription drug benefit known as Part D. In FY 2013, Medicare Part D covered 39 million people. The federal government spent $59 billion net of premiums on Part D in that year; after accounting for certain payments from states under the program, the net federal cost was $50 billion, which represented 10% of net federal spending for Medicare. A combination of broader trends in the prescription drug market and lower-than-expected enrollment in Part D has contributed to much lower spending for the program than projected when the MMA became law in 2003. This report examines the federal budgetary cost and competitive design of Medicare Part D and compares Medicare Part D and Medicaid Fee for Service. Figures and tables. This is a print on demand report.

Rare Diseases and Orphan Products
Rare Diseases and Orphan Products

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-04-03

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 0309158060

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Rare diseases collectively affect millions of Americans of all ages, but developing drugs and medical devices to prevent, diagnose, and treat these conditions is challenging. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends implementing an integrated national strategy to promote rare diseases research and product development.