How do you think you could lobby the pharmaceutical companies to participate in a comprehensive healthcare program that includes prescriptions, with or without a co-pay tier? . Currently, the pharmaceutical industry is largely based on volume, and pharmaceutical companies are incentivized to sell as many pills as possible, at the highest price. This is primarily due to the cost associated with research and development. Once a drug is FDA approved, the patent lasts for approximately 13 years. This means the pharmaceutical company only has a short time to recover research and development expenses and turn a profit before anyone in the industry can manufacture the same drug in generic form. It just seems to me there is no incentive for the pharmaceutical industry to participate in any healthcare program that will have a negative fiscal impact on their bottom line.
References
Drug Patents and Generic Pharmaceutical Drugs. Retrieved from www.news-medical.net/health/Drug-Patents-and-Generics.aspx
Milstead, J. A. & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Thorton, Grant. (2017). Health Care and Life Sciences; Affordable Care Act – Pharmaceuticals. Retrieved from /www.grantthornton.com/library/articles/health-care/2017/affordable-care-act-impact-pharmaceuticals.aspx
