Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
The enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in less developed countries is currently a topic of much public debate. Whether it is protecting the copyrights of Western recording artists or preventing `copycat’ technology goods, OECD countries are attempting to compel less developed countries (LDCs) to enforce IPR in their country. No area of IPR enforcement…
Merrill Goozner has a very interesting 4 part series on the pharmaceutical industry. Goozner talks of the inordinate amount of spending on pharmaceutical R&D yet notices a decrease in truly beneficial medicines. Pharmaceutical firms focus on trying to produce mass-market, blockbuster drugs for markets such as acid indigestion, headaches, and depression, but many of these…
Would drug importation from countries such as Canada be welfare improving for the U.S.? In the short run, the answer is yes. Lower prices will made pharmaceuticals more affordable and more pharmaceutical consumption closer to the static equilibrium level. In the long run, however, lower drug company profits may lead to less innovation in terms…
It’s decision time for Medicare Part D purchasers. Seniors have until December 31st to make their Part D choice and this decision is not a painless one. The Marketplace Money radio program recently reported (‘Deciphering Part D‘) that “the most popular policies have increased their prices substantially, especially Humana and United Healthcare, the ones that…
In February of 2007, the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) recommended reform to Britain’s current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS). The PPRS sets maximum and minimum profit levels from the sale of branded drugs to the NHS. The PPRS allows companies freedom to set prices as they please on new substances, but restricts subsequent…
The Food and Drug Administration is one of the most important government agencies. The FDA has an interesting history and below I will review some important dates. 1938 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. This law was enacted after the drug Elixer Sulfanilamide killed over 100 people. Firms were required to submit new drugs to…
Many studies have revealed patient non-compliance with medical prescriptions (e.g.: not taking prescribed drugs, not visiting the doctor) at around 50%. Most medical researchers believe that non-adherence is either due to 1) irrationality or 2) misinformation. Yet a Health Economics article by Lamiraud and Geoffard (2007) tests the hypothesis of whether or not this behavior…
Give a patient a pill and they will feel better. Give the same patient the exact same pill and tell them it was purchased at a wholesale discount, and these same people won’t feel as good. At least that is what a study by Shiv, Carmon and Ariely (2005) found. In three experiments, the authors…
In 2006, the federal government first began expanding Medicare coverage to include prescription drugs using the Medicare Part D program. According to one report, Part D will cost taxpayers $47 billion in 2007. Yet it is possible that Medicare Part D could actually save taxpayers money. If prescription drugs and other medical care are substitutes,…
There is an interesting article from the Techdirt blog about “How patents skew medical research.” The blog post states “The monopoly power granted by patents pushes all research money into only things that can be patented, ignoring other possible cures, even if they can be both profitable and quite helpful.” The post includes an example…