The prices for some common generic medicines soared over the past 18 months, state and federal lawmakers are trying to find relief for patients struggling to pay.
A Senate panel convened to investigate price increases for generic drugs. Separately, Senators Amy Klobuchar and McCain will revive stalled legislation to allow some prescription imports from Canada. The State of Maine is testing out a hotly contested new law that allows its residents to buy drugs from overseas, flouting United States policy.
One half of generic medicines went up in price 10% less than a year; about 10 percent more than doubled in cost in that time, with some common medicines rising by over 500 percent, [Thyroid replacement hormone, the antibiotic doxycycline, the heart pill digoxin and the asthma pill albuterol].
The United States does not regulate drug pricing or negotiate prices nationally like other countries, generic medicines have long been a safety valve for American patients, at lower costs. Historically, after the patent expires, generic copies have entered the fray, bringing prices down, often sharply.
A 90-day supply of the generic heart medicine digoxin sells for $187 in New York; the branded version, Lanoxin, sells for $24.30 in Canada. A month’s supply of a generic steroid to treat inflammatory bowel disease sells for $1,625 in the United States, while the branded version sells for $155.70 in Canada. It is all in the laws.
We are robbing the elderly from their social securities to pay the exaggerated prices of medications. It is time to do the right thing. Open Market condition will level the prices out.
See my patent application #11/081,991.
Just a thought.
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