NASEM report offers strategies to make prescription drugs more affordable

Nov 30, 2017 - 09:17 AM

Access to effective and affordable medicines is necessary for public health, social equity, and economic development, but the biopharmaceutical sector is not meeting that need, according to a report released today by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. “Our report seeks to address the market failures that currently permeate the biopharmaceutical sector, such as lack of competition due to distortions in the application of the patent protection process, the imbalance between the negotiating power of suppliers and purchasers, and the convoluted structure of the supply chain,” the authors note. The report offers eight recommendations with 27 actions to improve the affordability of prescription drugs without discouraging the development of new and more effective drugs for the future. Among other measures, the report recommends improving methods for assessing the value that drugs provide and ensuring that incentives to develop drugs for rare diseases are not extended to widely sold drugs; taking actions to continually foster greater access to off-patent generic drugs; and discouraging direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs. 

Related News Articles

Headline
AHA blog highlights how Paragon report gets hospitals wrong 
The AHA April 23 released a blog responding to a report issued April 22 by Paragon Health Institute. The blog highlights how the report relies on a long list…
Blog
Why Paragon Gets Hospitals Wrong: Report Ignores Reality of Care Delivery
Public
In think‑tank reports, like the one released this week by Paragon Health Institute, hospitals are often reduced to abstractions — payment rates, charts,…
Headline
CMS delays Part D portion of BALANCE Model on expansion of GLP-1 access
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in a memo April 21that it is delaying implementation of the Medicare Part D portion of the Better…
Headline
Rep. Blake Moore discusses health care affordability
Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, vice chair, House Republican Conference and member of the House Ways and Means Committee and its Subcommittee on Health, joined Bill…
Headline
Data highlights gaps in finding in-network mental health coverage 
Americans across 43 states enrolled in health plans from the nation’s four largest commercial health insurers face potential disparities in finding in-network…
Perspective
Protecting Access to Care for Our Most Severely Ill Patients
Public
Few patient populations are more vulnerable to the shifting winds around health care today than Medicare beneficiaries who need specialized, high-acuity and…