OPINION:
Is there anyone who thinks prescription drug prices in America are about right?
President Trump has elevated an issue Democrats have been jawboning about for years. On Monday, the president issued an executive order that he said would decrease the cost of drugs in America and lead to increased transparency about how pharmaceutical companies set prices.
As noted by Forbes.com: “Drug prices in America are nearly three times the price of those in 33 comparable countries, according to a report from the HHS. As an example, consider Ozempic, the popular diabetic drug that has been used for weight loss, which is more than five times as expensive in America ($936) as it is in Japan ($169). In addition, more than a quarter of Americans struggle to afford prescription medications, according to KFF research. With drugs more widely accessible, this could translate to better health outcomes in decreasing the burden of chronic medical conditions.”
Congress must ultimately decide whether to pass legislation to lower drug prices. If they do, lawsuits by Big Pharma will likely follow.
The pharmaceutical industry has argued that the cost of research and development of drugs is what drives up prices. Still, the president is right when he says it is unfair that other countries pay far less for the same drugs, made by the same companies, packaged the same way and sold to other countries for far less than Americans pay. One way to fix this inequity is to persuade, or force, the drug companies to raise the prices of drugs they sell to other nations to recoup the research and development expenses while lowering the costs to Americans.
Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont found himself in the unusual position of agreeing with Mr. Trump’s executive order, but with a caveat. In a statement, he said: “I agree with President Trump. It is an outrage that the American people pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. … Further, as Trump well knows, his executive order will be thrown out by the courts. If Trump is serious about making real change rather than just issuing a press release, he will support legislation I will soon be introducing to make sure we pay no more for prescription drugs than people in other major countries. If Republicans and Democrats come together on this legislation, we can get it passed in a few weeks.”
What a headline: Sanders and Trump agree with each other. Talk about “strange bedfellows.”
If you need more fuel for your burning anger over drug prices, consider a list compiled by the Daily Mail of the more popular and most expensive drugs and their much lower prices in other countries. Here are a few from that list:
• Keytruda — Cost per dose: $10,800 to $15,200. Used to treat melanoma, lung, bladder cancers, Hodgkin lymphoma. Under the new executive order: about $4,100 (Germany), a reduction of 73%.
• Opdivo — Cost per dose: $7,500 to $10,500. Used to treat lung, kidney, liver, colorectal cancer. Under the new executive order: $2,800 (France), a reduction of 73%.
• Darzalex — Cost per dose: $6,500. Used to treat multiple myeloma. Under the new executive order: $2,900 (Netherlands), a reduction of 55%.
• Rituxan — Cost per dose: $5,200 to $8,000. Used to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Under the new executive order: $2,400 (Belgium), a reduction of 70%.
• Tecentriq — Cost per dose: $8,200. Used to treat bladder, lung and breast cancers. Under the new executive order: $3,500 (Germany), a reduction of 57%.
There may not be a better time to reduce drug costs if Congress, the courts and the pharmaceutical industry cooperate.
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
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