While Turing Pharmaceuticals Martin Shkreli’s decision to raise the cost of a drug 5,000% certainly got a lot of attention earlier this year, the fact that the high cost of prescription drugs in America continues to soar beyond the reach of many isn’t news to anyone who’s made a trip to the pharmacy lately.  In fact, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found a large majority of the public (72%) view the cost of prescription drugs as unreasonable.

The federal Health and Human Services Department has signaled they’re looking for a way to curb rising prescription drug prices.  They need to do so because rising drug costs have now overtaken a long stretch of stable premiums.  In other words, while Medicare has successfully controlled premiums those successes are lost when seniors in Part D continue to face growing prescription costs. 

“Andy Slavitt, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said his agency spent $140 billion on prescription drugs and that spending on medicines increased 13 percent in 2014 while overall health spending grew 5 percent.” ….HHS Airs Concerns About Rising Drug Prices, Congressional Quarterly

“Spending on medicines increased 13 percent in 2014, compared to 5 percent for health care overall, Slavitt said. It was the highest rate of drug spending growth since 2001.”…Obama administration sets stage for a debate on drug costs, Associated Press

One simple solution is to allow Medicare to negotiate prices for prescription drugs which could save the program and its beneficiaries billions of dollars.

“The law that established Medicare Part D explicitly prohibits the prescription drug program from negotiating lower drug costs for beneficiaries. The major pharmaceutical companies adamantly defend this rule, contending that the higher prices are necessary to support the industry’s investment in research and development. However, a comparison of the prices paid by Part D with those paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other agencies shows that Part D could save billions of dollars through the use of additional negotiation techniques. Our analysis finds that the VA attains drug prices that, on average, are 48 percent lower than Part D plan prices for the top 10 drugs covered by the program.” …”Price Negotiation for the Medicare Drug Program: It is Time to Lower Costs for Seniors,” NCPSSM Issue Brief

It’s time to hold America’s drug makers accountable. 

“Heather Block, a breast cancer patient from Lewes, Delaware, told the forum that her costs have been so high she could face bankruptcy if she beats the odds against her advanced disease. ‘Innovation is meaningless if nobody can afford it,’ she said”… Associated Press