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Americans feel like chumps. That was one conclusion to draw from the series of yes-or-no questions posed by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown to executives from major drug manufacturers appearing before the Senate Finance Committee this week. The Cleveland Democrat elicited responses that established two things: No other country matches the funding American taxpayers pour into the research and development of pharmaceuticals.
And for their investment, benefiting countries around the world? Americans face the highest prices for drugs.
What can be done, realistically and soon, to ease the cost burden?
The least Congress could do is take steps to promote generic drugs and bring to public attention the process behind drug pricing.
Those in need of expensive medication and struggling to make ends meet deserve better than lawmakers in gridlock or drug company executives insisting that others in the industry are the real problem.
As with so much about the high cost of health care in this country, the driving factor is price.
The Akron Beacon Journal