Thanks to the Trump administration, families can rest a little easier this fall

Analytics 22:23 09.09.2018
The cost of health care is an unceasing concern for Americans, as prices have soared over the past 30 years. Total health expenditures have risen from $74.6 billion in 1970 to $1.4 trillion in 2000. Even more troubling, health expenditures exploded to $3.3 trillion in 2016, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
 
Rising costs have been compounded by government “fixes,” such as the Affordable Care Act, which sought to lower costs. Obamacare increased premiums and still requires massive taxpayer subsidies. The Trump administration, seeking to lower health care’s massive costs, has strategically targeted areas of the health care market that can be improved. One of those areas is pharmaceuticals.
 
In recent years, the prices of certain drugs have been artificially inflated to unaffordable levels, jeopardizing public health. For example, former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli charged $750 per pill for Daraprim, a treatment for infectious diseases. Consumer outrage was further exacerbated when pharmaceutical giant Mylan was accused of inflating the price of its signature allergy treatment, EpiPen, a lifesaving epinephrine injection product that many schoolchildren with fatal allergies depend on.
 
When Mylan  raised the price of EpiPens by roughly 400 percent from 2010 to 2016, consumers were not complacent. Mylan ultimately agreed to pay the federal government $465 million amid allegations they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly misclassifying EpiPen as a generic drug in an attempt to avoid paying Medicaid rebates.
 
In 2015, an estimated 3.6 million Americans were prescribed an EpiPen, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Because of the dramatic price increase, consumers and health care groups requested help from the Trump administration.
 
Fortunately, in late August, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced the approval of the first generic version of EpiPen. This affirmed the administration’s philosophy that competition in health care keeps drug prices low and increases access.
 
According to the Association for Accessible Medicines’ (AAM) 2018 Generic Drug Access and Savings Report, generic drugs saved for consumers and governments nearly $265 billion nationally in 2017. When broken down into savings for Medicare and Medicaid, the savings translated to an average of $1,952 for every Medicare enrollee and $568 for every Medicaid enrollee.
 
Furthermore, consumers are more than willing to purchase generic drugs. According to the AAM report, nine out of every 10 prescriptions in the United States were filled with generic versions in 2017.
 
EpiPen was classified as “off-patent” because its patent had expired. However, despite its “off-patent” status, Mylan maintained its near-monopoly on the epinephrine injector market because competitors were not able to reproduce the effective injection mechanism of the EpiPen. FDA regulations prohibited any generic form of the product that didn’t offer an exact replica of Mylan’s injector.
 
While waiting for Congress to possibly amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s regulatory oversight of “complex” drugs, Gottlieb used the FDA’s authority to approve complex generics.
 
“We remain committed to doing our part to provide scientific and regulatory clarity for sponsors seeking to develop complex generics,” Gottlieb stated. “As well as prioritize the approval of medicines with little or no generic competition as part of our overarching effort to remove barriers to generic development and market entry of critically important medicines.”
 
Thanks to the efforts of the Trump administration, hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren and their parents can rest a little easier this fall.
Azerbaijan takes measures to turn Khankandi into safe city - VİDEO

News line

Le Pen accuses French government of fraud
14:22 28.03.2024
Armenian Government Grapples with Internal Division on Village Return Issue - Ishkhan Verdiyan talks on Ednews
14:12 28.03.2024
Ammunition found along route of Crocus City Hall terrorists
Ammunition found along route of Crocus City Hall terrorists
13:41 28.03.2024
Expert Ilyas Huseynov Predicts Peaceful Return of these territories to Azerbaijan
13:20 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan weather forecast for March 29
Azerbaijan weather forecast for March 29
12:55 28.03.2024
Russian MFA concerned about upcoming Armenia-US-EU meeting
12:23 28.03.2024
Secret Points of Pashinyan's Meeting with French Representative: Is Peace Agreement Signing Imminent?
12:00 28.03.2024
Armenia announces recruitment of border guards to work at Zvartnots
Armenia announces recruitment of border guards to work at Zvartnots
11:47 28.03.2024
The US-Armenia-EU Joint Conference is a part of the pressure plan on Azerbaijan - MP Konul Nurullayeva
11:30 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan’s central bank reduces discount rate
Azerbaijan’s central bank reduces discount rate
11:23 28.03.2024
CSTO chief: ‘Yerevan doesn’t participate in our work, but there are no statements about suspension’
11:13 28.03.2024
Ammunition found in Khankandi
Ammunition found in Khankandi
11:00 28.03.2024
Russia had been aware of preparation for terrorist attack at Crocus - says intelligience chief
10:46 28.03.2024
Scholtz reveals date of his last telephone conversation with Putin
Scholtz reveals date of his last telephone conversation with Putin
10:33 28.03.2024
Head of the SSS: France is inciting Armenia to a new war
10:21 28.03.2024
Are we in the brink of World War III? - Pundit talks on Ednews
10:10 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan's National Security: Reflecting on 105 Years of Defending Sovereignty
09:55 28.03.2024
Hikmat Hajiyev: Rasmussen fell in forgetfulness to attach payment to his report
09:35 28.03.2024
Hand grenades found in Kalbajar
09:25 28.03.2024
Titanic 'door' prop that kept Rose alive sells for $718,750
Titanic 'door' prop that kept Rose alive sells for $718,750
08:50 28.03.2024
Twitch's biggest streamer diagnosed with cancer diagnosis at 32
23:55 27.03.2024
Azerbaijan's former Minister of National Security passes away
22:41 27.03.2024
Russia has no unfriendly states, only unfriendly elites — Putin
22:25 27.03.2024
Erdogan vows to make efforts for implementation of UN resolution regarding Gaza
Erdogan vows to make efforts for implementation of UN resolution regarding Gaza
21:44 27.03.2024
Russian MFA: France's presence in the Caucasus is of an intelligence nature
21:00 27.03.2024
Record numbers of migrants arrive in UK in 2024
20:42 27.03.2024
Leo Docherty appointed new UK Minister of State for Armed Forces
Leo Docherty appointed new UK Minister of State for Armed Forces
19:34 27.03.2024
MFA: ‘We reject anti-Azerbaijani allegations in the report prepared by Friends of Armenia Network’
19:00 27.03.2024
Armenian Speaker: We are looking for people who consider those villages to be Armenian territory
18:42 27.03.2024
France evacuates over 170 nationals from Haiti
France evacuates over 170 nationals from Haiti
18:19 27.03.2024
Iran's Concerns Over Enclave Villages Return Highlight Geopolitical Complexities - Iranian political scientest talks on Ednews
18:00 27.03.2024
New details of the Crocus terrorist attack have been revealed - two suspects transited through Türkiye
17:33 27.03.2024
Political Scientist Turab Rzayev Weighs in on Armenia's "Great Armenia" Ambitions: Pashinyan's Realism or Rhetoric?
17:00 27.03.2024
Armenian did not join statement of CSTO PA condemning terrorist act in Crocus
Armenian did not join statement of CSTO PA condemning terrorist act in Crocus
16:39 27.03.2024
Political Scientist Criticizes EU Representative's Remarks on Azerbaijani Media Threats Against Armenia
15:55 27.03.2024
Pele's record in Brazilian national team broken
Pele's record in Brazilian national team broken
15:27 27.03.2024
Simonyan: Yerevan, Moscow not discuss withdrawal of Russian border guards from Armenian-Turkish border
15:18 27.03.2024
Tofig Abbasov: Armenia Seeks to Amplify Anti-Azerbaijani Sentiments in Georgia
15:01 27.03.2024
Russian parliament asks for investigation into 'western financing of terrorist acts'
14:46 27.03.2024
French company Delair to supply Ukraine with 400 reconnaissance drones
14:33 27.03.2024
Hamısı