Cost of Healthcare – Page 271 – The Goodman Institute Health Blog

Regulations and Patent Gaming Undermines Drug Maker Competition, Delays New Products

Posted on July 24, 2023July 23, 2023 by Devon Herrick

Yesterday John Goodman posted a link about pharmaceutical companies gaming the patent system. The following is an excerpt from the American Institute for Economic Research:

Senator Bernie Sanders isn’t right about much, but he is about one thing: The United States pays too much for prescription drugs.

… [t]here are also many bad US government policies putting upward pressure on domestic drug prices.

The fundamental issue is that there is no free market in the drug industry. It’s been steadily eroded by regulators and lawmakers, often at the behest and to the benefit of drug manufacturers, resulting in their ability to charge prices well over what a competitive market would allow.

Much of the blame for a lack of market competition can also be attributed to a U.S. patent system that is too easily gamed and exploited by drug companies.

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Saturday Links

Posted on July 22, 2023July 22, 2023 by John C. Goodman

Gaming the patent system: drug companies have 74 patents apiece on America’s ten best-selling drugs—receiving over half of them after FDA approval.
More than 3.1 million patients in 48 states have completed a consultation with an AI-powered chatbot.
Federal employees are still not back to work. 17 of the 24 federal agencies in GAO’s review had an average occupancy of 25 percent or less.
As of mid-2020, collections agencies held $140 billion in unpaid medical bills. That’s more than all other collections agency consumer debt combined.
80% of children with cancer survive at least five years in the wealthiest countries v. 30% in the rest of the world, according to WHO. (NYT)

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The Atlantic: What Happens When Hard Drugs Are Decriminalized

Posted on July 20, 2023 by Devon Herrick

Today John Goodman posted the Danger of Drug Laws and the unintended consequences of making drug abuse illegal. Because drug abuse is illegal, illicit drug users don’t have the support system that medical pharmaceuticals have. For example, fentanyl has both legitimate medicinal uses and non-medical uses. It has a low therapeutic index when used for pain relief. That means it is inherently risky.

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Insured, But for How Long?

Posted on July 20, 2023 by John C. Goodman

While 12.5% of individuals under 65 are uninsured at a point in time, twice as many—one in four—are uninsured at some point over a 2-y period. Moreover, the risk of losing insurance remained virtually unchanged with the introduction of the landmark ACA. Risk of insurance loss is particularly high for those with health insurance through Medicaid or private exchanges; they have a 20% chance of losing coverage at some point over a 2-y period, compared to 8.5% for those with employer-provided coverage.

Amy Finkelstein, et. al.

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