# data[].attributes.headline
HIGH DRUG PRICES QUESTIONED BY MEDICAID PLANS, AARP AND OTHERS

# data[].attributes.subject
HIGH DRUG PRICES QUESTIONED BY MEDICAID PLANS, AARP AND OTHERS

# data[].attributes.body
This Article questions whether or not High Drug prices are necessary, and some steps one can take in lowering these prices. Many professionals offer input on the issue, such as Peter Bach, a well accredited expert in the field. The example provided was the entrance of Hepatitis C Drugs into the market. Betsche finds that many drug companies can afford to lower their prices, but the cause of them having high drug prices in the first place is actually due to taxpayers, not personal interests. The Implications in this research study are significant because many Pharmaceutical companies have the option to lower their prices and can afford to lower their prices, yet they continue to allow them to skyrocket. These prices don’t only impact the consumers, but also pharmacy buyers as well.

# data[].attributes.body
This source looks at what is causing skyrocketing prices in the Pharmaceutical Industry. It questions who is actually to blame for these prices. Baker also argues that the people most impacted by these high drug prices are cash payers for medication. Many people are quick to point fingers at greedy people within the pharmaceutical industry, but this may not be the case. Baker finds that the price inflation does not come from a single part of the Pharmaceutical Industry, but is primarily due to the exclusivity of new drugs. Newer drugs usually enter the market at a higher price to help pay for the research of other drugs that failed to enter the market. The implications of the study are significant because high prices are affecting multiple groups, and the longer this remains an issue, the worse it could get.

# data[].attributes.body
People in the United States are spending nearly all of their income on prescription drugs, which is leading to economic hardship throughout. It seems to have started with the passing of the Hatch-Waxman Act, which granted patent exclusivity which Pharmaceutical companies abused with over the top marketing. This marketing used up a lot of their budget and thus needed to sell drugs at higher prices to make up for this. People have had enough of their wallets being emptied and brought forth solutions to fix this problem, with some having an effect in lowering prices yet not enough. It may be beneficial to change the overall system rather than tweak it, since companies will always find a way to get around new patent laws and regain exclusivity. It also must be stopped as soon as possible to help balance the US economy.

# data[].attributes.headline
Transition: Connection from theme to theme

# data[].attributes.subject
Transition: Connection from theme to theme

# data[].attributes.body
With new patent exclusivity laws and the high drug prices continuing to climb, people have had enough and are taking steps to try and fix this problem once and for all.

# data[].attributes.headline
Transition: Connection from theme to theme

# data[].attributes.subject
Transition: Connection from theme to theme

# data[].attributes.body
The Hatch-Waxman Act allowed lengthened exclusivity for patent drugs, and this would lead to heavy spending on marketing and even higher, legal, drug prices.

# data[].attributes.body
Many of these policies proposed were put into effect and made an impact on prices, but they didn’t really seem to make a dent. Most of them were short term solutions that would fail once the companies found a loophole. One needs to find an everlasting solution to make pricing more economically sustainable for everyone.

# data[].attributes.body
Pharmaceutical companies are using patents and marketing in order to maximize profits, mostly at the expense of consumers. They are tricking the consumers into fueling their marketing which continues to keep inflated prices.

# data[].attributes.body
Although all the Hatch-Waxman Act ever wanted was to help lower prices for the average citizen, it ended up doing quite the opposite. The Act wanted to increase patent exclusivity so that companies would be motivated to create innovative drugs, yet they continue to abuse the act and keep their prices super high, financially affecting almost everybody.

# data[].attributes.body
“THE HIGH COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN THE UNITED STATES: ORIGINS AND PROSPECTS FOR REFORM” makes the valid point that the United States spends the most money on drugs in the entire world, and “LOWERING DRUG PRICES BY PUTTING AMERICA FIRST” seems to agree with this. They propose potentially negotiating with Pharmaceutical companies to lower prices.

# data[].attributes.body
“WHY ARE US DRUG PRICES SO HIGH? WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENTIAL POLICY TO LOWER DRUG COSTS INCLUDE?” brought forth the idea that maybe a policy should be passed that would be able to mold into the current circumstances, and always change for the benefit of solving the problem. “THE HIGH COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN THE UNITED STATES: ORIGINS AND PROSPECTS FOR REFORM” determines that the best way is to just attack it, and to enforce stricter laws for exclusivity.

# data[].attributes.body
“PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: MEDICARE SPENDING ON DRUGS WITH DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING” highlights how companies use marketing as an excuse to sell drugs for super high prices, almost as compensation for being fed information one doesn’t need. “PATENT TYING, PRICE DISCRIMINATION, AND INNOVATION” demonstrates how companies can use the marketing to invoke price discrimination in order maximize their profits.

# data[].attributes.body
“THE ECONOMICS OF PATENTS: LESSONS FROM RECENT U.S. PATENT REFORM” goes in depth into the current patent system, and some of the flaws within it and how it leads to extended exclusivity. “PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: MEDICARE SPENDING ON DRUGS WITH DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING” provides and example of what pharmaceutical companies are doing with this lengthened exclusivity, which would be spending a lot of money on marketing.

# data[].attributes.body
“The Hatch-Waxman Act: Balancing Competing Interests or Survival of the Fittest?” indicated that when people work around the Hatch-Waxman Act, it can be economically unsustainable for customers. “EARNING EXCLUSIVITY: GENERIC DRUG INCENTIVES” provided an example of how the system has been hijacked, allowing Pharmaceutical companies to keep the same drug in the market for longer at a super high price.

# data[].attributes.body
“UNSETTLING DRUG PATENT SETTLEMENTS: A FRAMEWORK FOR PRESUMPTIVE ILLEGALITY” provided many reasons as to how the Hatch-Waxman Act failed the US economy, and why many aspect of the Act should be illegal. “The Hatch-Waxman Act: Balancing Competing Interests or Survival of the Fittest?” does quite the opposite and actually provides some reasons as to how the Act may be beneficial, unless it is used unlawfully.

# data[].attributes.body
“Thirty Years of Flawed Incentives: An Empirical And Economic Analysis of Hatch-Waxman Patent-Term Restoration” highlights how companies are finding loopholes in the Act, and how people are bending the law. “UNSETTLING DRUG PATENT SETTLEMENTS: A FRAMEWORK FOR PRESUMPTIVE ILLEGALITY” describes one of those loopholes, specifically reverse payments which bring about economic hardship.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Hatch-Waxman Act: Balancing Competing Interests or Survival of the Fittest?

# data[].attributes.subject
The Hatch-Waxman Act: Balancing Competing Interests or Survival of the Fittest?

# data[].attributes.body
The purpose of this article is to see if the Hatch-Waxman act was beneficial in keeping drug prices lower for consumers, or if it continues to allow brand companies to keep their own prices higher. The author provided an example of a consumer who, before the Hatch-Waxman Act, had to pay large sums of money for a medication he needed to stay alive. After the Hatch-Waxman act, he could buy the same medication from a different company for a fraction of the cost. She found that when the Hatch-Waxman act is followed correctly, it does balance pharmaceutical competition. However, when it is used unlawfully, the Act gets taken advantage of and no longer does its intended purpose. It actually does quite the opposite. The implications of this research study are significant because the people using the Hatch-Waxman Act unlawfully are able to charge their consumers super high prices, and because of this consumers will struggle to afford prescription medications.

# data[].attributes.body
Economic Lens: What are the economical causes and effects of high drug prices in the US Pharmaceutical System?

# data[].attributes.headline
UNSETTLING DRUG PATENT SETTLEMENTS: A FRAMEWORK FOR PRESUMPTIVE ILLEGALITY

# data[].attributes.subject
UNSETTLING DRUG PATENT SETTLEMENTS: A FRAMEWORK FOR PRESUMPTIVE ILLEGALITY

# data[].attributes.body
The purpose of this article is to question whether or not reverse payments should be legal, due to the pharmaceutical monopolies they create. Carrier argues that even though the patent system is influencing innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry, it ultimately gets abused to keep prices high. He finds that the Hatch-Waxman act allowed the Pharmaceutical Industry to keep valid patents on new drugs. He also finds that because these companies always have valid patents, they can keep their prices in the market super high due to their “innovation”. Since all of these Pharmaceutical companies can legally keep their prices super high in the market, people are often having to choose whether to eat a meal or attempt to buy medications that they so desperately need.

# data[].attributes.headline
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: MEDICARE SPENDING ON DRUGS WITH DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING

# data[].attributes.subject
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: MEDICARE SPENDING ON DRUGS WITH DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING

# data[].attributes.body
This article questions how much money the Pharmaceutical Industry actually spends on marketing, such as direct-to-consumer advertising. Dicken researches the average spending of these companies throughout the years. He found that Drug Companies actually pay upwards of $18 billion dollars on direct-to-consumer marketing on 553 drugs from the year 2016-2018. He also found that direct-to-consumer marketing is one of the main causes for Drug Companies spending so much. If they didn’t spend so much money on this, they might be able to sell their drugs at more affordable prices. The Implications in this study are significant because Drug Companies seem to be spending a lot of money advertising directly to consumers, when they could be saving some of that money so that they can afford to sell the drugs at lower prices.

# data[].attributes.headline
THE HIGH COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN THE UNITED STATES: ORIGINS AND PROSPECTS FOR REFORM

# data[].attributes.subject
THE HIGH COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN THE UNITED STATES: ORIGINS AND PROSPECTS FOR REFORM

# data[].attributes.body
The purpose of this article is to look at the causes and effects of these high drug prices, as well as some policies that could help in lowering these prices. They looked into many articles that were peer-reviewed by experts which addressed the source of high drug prices, and some ways to help manage these prices better. Everyone agrees that the United States spends the most on Prescription drugs that any other country in the world. What they found is that the United States indirectly granted government-protected monopolies, which led to these companies being allowed to continue to sell at high prices. A short-term solution to this would be to enforce stricter requirements for exclusivity, so there are less exclusive drugs on the market. The Implications in this study are significant because the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs are affecting not only patients, but also prescribers, payers, and policy makers.

# data[].attributes.headline
Thirty Years of Flawed Incentives: An Empirical And Economic Analysis of Hatch-Waxman Patent-Term Restoration

# data[].attributes.subject
Thirty Years of Flawed Incentives: An Empirical And Economic Analysis of Hatch-Waxman Patent-Term Restoration

# data[].attributes.body
This article argues how all of these brand-names responded to the Hatch-Waxman Act, and what methods these brand-names use in order to find loopholes in the Act. It also dives into how these changes in brand-names have negatively affected the Pharmaceutical Industry. The Author found that with the Hatch-Waxman Act, Congress would often fix many of these loopholes without considering the impacts of the other parts of the Act. She concluded that the costs of the new medications being put into the market resulted in many people resisting the Pharmaceutical Industry, most notably consumers. Due to the increase in drug prices within the Pharmaceutical Industry, people are struggling in order to afford these medications, and the thought of the greed in the Pharmaceutical Industry could affect future innovation.

# data[].attributes.headline
WHY ARE US DRUG PRICES SO HIGH? WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENTIAL POLICY TO LOWER DRUG COSTS INCLUDE?

# data[].attributes.subject
WHY ARE US DRUG PRICES SO HIGH? WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENTIAL POLICY TO LOWER DRUG COSTS INCLUDE?

# data[].attributes.body
This article questions why pharmaceutical prices are so high, and what actions people can take in lowering these prices. Bailey conducted interviews to help her answer these questions. The Interviewees consist of John Clark and Amy Thompson, both of whom are experts in the Pharmaceutical Industry. She ended up finding that the high prices aren’t actually caused by a Pharmacy wanting to make profit, but a number of other factors such as the research and development of the drugs. What the US could do to try and lower these prices is a policy that focuses on transparency. The implications in this study are significant because the high drug prices are negatively affecting the consumers, since many struggle to afford the medication they need to survive.

# data[].attributes.headline
EARNING EXCLUSIVITY: GENERIC DRUG INCENTIVES

# data[].attributes.subject
EARNING EXCLUSIVITY: GENERIC DRUG INCENTIVES

# data[].attributes.body
The purpose of this article is to determine the ability by the Pharmaceutical Industry to re-patent already-existing drugs due to loopholes in the Hatch-Waxman Act. This article in particular is arguing that the Pharmaceutical Industry is using the Hatch-Waxman Act in order to make small changes to drugs that keep them basically identical to the original. Since the drugs are “different”, they can be re-entered into the market in order to allow the Pharmaceutical Industry to keep those drug prices high. The Author concludes that the 180 day system of the Hatch-Waxman has been hijacked, and is used as a tool by drug companies in order to keep prices high instead of benefitting the customers. The points made in this research study are significant because the Hatch-Waxman Act was intended to lower prices for consumers, but it ended up actually doing the opposite and allowing the Pharmaceutical Industry to raise prices for their consumers.

# data[].attributes.headline
PATENT TYING, PRICE DISCRIMINATION, AND INNOVATION

# data[].attributes.subject
PATENT TYING, PRICE DISCRIMINATION, AND INNOVATION

# data[].attributes.body
This Article Analyzes patent tying in relation to the market, and how there should be laws established in order to prevent this patent tying. The Author discovered that price discrimination in this patent tying encourages innovation in new drugs. This argument is significant because the patent system is not only affecting the companies that distribute the drugs, but the consumers that buy them as well. Since prescription medication is so important in today’s society, it impacts nearly everyone.

# data[].attributes.headline
LOWERING DRUG PRICES BY PUTTING AMERICA FIRST

# data[].attributes.subject
LOWERING DRUG PRICES BY PUTTING AMERICA FIRST

# data[].attributes.body
The purpose of this proposal is to lower drug prices for the average citizen. The first clause is arguing that Americans pay more for the same prescription drugs than any other country in the world, and that Trump intends to change this. The Executive Office finds that many other smaller countries are able to negotiate with drug companies to manage the prices within their nation. However, the United States is then subject to the debt of the Pharmaceutical Industry at the expense of lower drug prices everywhere else. The Implications of this study are significant because the high drug prices are not only unfair but also have other negative economic and health effects on people who so desperately need these prescription drugs.

# data[].attributes.headline
THE ECONOMICS OF PATENTS: LESSONS FROM RECENT U.S. PATENT REFORM

# data[].attributes.subject
THE ECONOMICS OF PATENTS: LESSONS FROM RECENT U.S. PATENT REFORM

# data[].attributes.body
This article questions whether or not patents influence more innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry. She looks into the influence of patents, and determines in which cases patents may aspire for innovation, as well as how they may restrict it. She also looks into the many factors that may change the effectiveness of lengthened patent terms. Gallini finds that it is unfair to criticize a patent system that has not had enough time to adjust to current society. In the near future, there will be new laws in order to improve the mistakes that came with the current patent system. The implications in this study are significant because patent laws, such as the Hatch-Waxman Act, are being taken advantage of by the Pharmaceutical industry and have not had much time to mature and adjust to current society.

# data[].attributes.body
High drug prices are only going to get worse from here, and so many people, including ones from the US government, are bringing forth ideas to try and help.

# data[].attributes.body
Patent exclusivity has become a problem for the US economy, and the Pharmaceutical Industry is finding ways to continuously keep their products “exclusive”. They would do something called “evergreening”, where they would make a super minimalistic change to a drug and call it new to re-enter the market. They would then spend a ton of money marketing these drugs and would sell them at super high prices to help find the marketing.

# data[].attributes.body
People are currently unable to afford the medications that they need, and it is leading to serious health concerns and death in the United States. High drug prices have become a huge problem for many, not just consumers. Primarily, it is affecting them heavily economically. Affordability has become a growing concern for people who need medication, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. There is no single cause of the high drug prices, but the first place one may look is the passing of the Hatch-Waxman Act, which allowed for longer patent exclusivity in the market. Newer drugs usually enter the market at a higher price to help pay for the research of other drugs that failed to enter the market. This was also used to motivate innovation for new drugs. It was found that many drug companies can afford to lower their prices, but the cause of them having high drug prices in the first place is actually due to taxpayers, not personal profit. In an attempt to help lower prices and make them more affordable, many new policies have been brought to the table. Even the United States Government has decided to step in and take matters into his own hands.

# data[].attributes.body
The Hatch-Waxman Act was a law passed in 1984 which lengthened the patent term for new drugs entering the market. The purpose of this law was to allow newer drugs to be sold at higher prices for longer, so that companies would be driven to make new and innovative drugs.