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Prescription Drug Costs on the Rise
It is no secret that the high cost of prescription drugs are front of mind for just about everyone in the healthcare and political arenas. Once upon a time, those were the only parties concerned with such matters. As the consuming public, we were afforded the luxury of ‘checking out’ of those issues and leaving them to the so-called experts. Once upon a time.
In today’s environment, the reality is that the public is more concerned than ever about rising drug costs. Policymakers are tasked with the heavy lift of identifying the root cause; the “why”.
While the folks on the Hill figure that one out, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll by Kaiser Family Foundation discovered something fascinating. Apparently, 72% of the consuming public view pharmaceutical companies as having too much influence in Washington. Ironically, health insurers who might be assumed as the most influential trail behind pharmaceutical companies with a vote of only 66%!
So front of lobe is this issue that it has moved the needle on the public’s view of what President Trump should tackle next. Americans desire for President Trump to resolve the rising costs of prescription medication outranks passing an infrastructure bill (ranked at 45%), solving the prescription opioid epidemic (ranked at 42%), and repealing the Affordable Care Act (ranked at 28%) among both Democrats and Republicans! Yes, on this issue more than any other, Americans stand united! So what are we to do in the interim?
Until there is a solution on a national level, employer health plans will need to run with laser-focused efficiency. Organizations that are not considering alternative funding strategies to gain additional flexibility in controlling their pharmaceutical spend will definitely be left holding the bag financially. Exude is poised to assist any who are ready to put in place a long-term strategy that will help their organization thrive instead of just survive these soaring drug costs.
Resources:
https://www.kff.org/health-reform/press-release/poll-drug-companies-have-more-influence-in-washington-than-nra/
