READ BETWEEN THE LINES

When was the last time that you went to pick up your medication and negotiated what you pay the pharmacy?

Negotiating prices between pharma companies and payers is common practice. Yet consumers are still not seeing enough benefit from the rebates based on these negotiations.

This op-ed from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturer of America’s President and CEO advices that the reason Americans are struggling to pay for their medication is that the system is flawed, but fails to acknowledge the responsibility of #BigPharma to set reasonable prices and price increases.

Rather, he points to a complicated system with many players involved that ultimately decides the price of medication. The solutions he proposes add even more layers of complexity.

The data frequently used in the media tell a convoluted story – while the overall price of drugs on average has not increased all that dramatically, the list price of numerous drugs have skyrocketed over the years and those drugs are in the headlines nearly everyday. What is truly tragic is that those drugs often treat life-threatening conditions.

So if you read between the lines, what is lost in the play on words in this op-ed is the consumer. Americans deserve safe and affordable access to prescription medications.

Read the full op-ed here: http://bit.ly/2qKzZLx