The Myth of Lower Drug Prices

Cheaper drugs are no bargain if they’re the wrong drugs.

“Smoke two packs and call me in the morning.”

Suppose the FDA became concerned about the high cost of living and figured that since Americans spend $80 billion on cigarettes each year, then requiring tobacco companies to cut prices by half would save smokers $1680 per year — about double the average middle class tax cut in 2018.

Of course, those savings would probably be offset by higher medical costs, particularly if smokers decided not to give up the habit once it had become more affordable, or used the extra income to buy even more cigs.

You would probably call such a plan that contradicted its own goal “irrational.” But it’s just as irrational to clamor for lower prices on drugs that cause more harm than good. Not all drugs are harmful of course, but that doesn’t mean that they will be prescribed in a way that’s effective or does no harm. A rational drug policy would help physicians and consumers make informed choices about the wise use of healthcare dollars.

We don’t have a rational drug policy in the U. S. Thanks to advertising from the pharmaceutical industry ($29.9 billion in 2016) we don’t even have a non-governmental free market solution to the problem. We have an irrational non-policy that is harmful to our health as well as our wallet. Lowering drug prices will not by itself fix that problem…