Health Not Wealth

 

            Why is it that Americans end up paying hundreds of dollars for a single prescription? Some of these over-priced medications need to be taken for several years and often, as in the case of AIDS, a drug cocktail is prescribed, meaning several drugs must be taken simultaneously. People without adequate health insurance and those who cannot pay for these drugs out-of-pocket do not have many options; unfortunately, far too many are left to die as a result. We can place much of the blame on the pharmaceutical companies who believe they have the right to set outrageous prices. The American health insurance industry is primarily based on profit, and this, in turn, leads to placing extraordinary price tags on prescription drugs.

             Some may argue that it is worth paying thousands of dollars for life-saving treatments. However, when we compare charges for certain medications in various countries, we see that prices in America are often much greater. For example, Lipitor, a commonly prescribed medication for the treatment of high cholesterol costs $6 in New Zealand, $43 in the United Kingdom, and up to $145 in the United States (Klein 2013.) More and more people are starting to speak up about these alarming costs and taking a stand, especially those protesting the outrageous prices of cancer and AIDS treatments. I based my lego protestor on this issue and this rise of awareness. My lego protestor has a disgusted-looking face, is wearing a hospital gown, and is holding a sign that says “HEALTH NOT WEALTH.” This slogan directly challenges the broader problem by simply addressing the fact everyone involved in making, distributing, endorsing and marketing our medications in America today appears to be putting profit ahead of public welfare. Not only does this refer to the pharmaceutical companies, but it also includes government regulators who allow market concerns to dominate their decisions.

            One may think that the high costs of prescription drugs are due to the fact that research and development must be sustained; however, pharmaceutical companies spend twice as much on advertising and marketing their products as they do on research and development (World Health Organization.) In general, the drugs chosen to be developed are those predicted most likely to yield the largest amount of revenue.

            There is an increasing volume of evidence pointing to the fact that pharmaceutical companies, often referred to as “Big Pharma,” are not contributing nearly as much as they could to the saving of American lives. If people start to speak up and argue that we should be putting human life ahead of the everlasting profits for these companies, perhaps we could start heading in the direction of a healthier America. If pharmaceutical companies would spend more on research and development, we could have more cures and fewer palliatives.

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Ezra Klein, “21 graphs that show America’s health-care prices are ludicrous,” The Washington

Post, March 26, 2013, accessed September 29, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/26/21-graphs-that-show-americas-health-care-prices-are-ludicrous/#.

“Pharmaceutical Industry,” World Health Organization, accessed October 1, 2013,

http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story073/en/index.html