It Will Take More Than Transparency To Reduce Drug Prices, Economists Say
The Trump administration wants to increase transparency in prescription drug pricing. But health economists say the administration's call to tie prices to what other nations pay might work better.
A new drug to treat postpartum depression is likely to reach the U.S. market in June, with a $34,000 price tag. The approval of the drug by the Food and Drug Administration comes on the heels of another approval, just two weeks ago, of a different antidepressant, whose retail price will be as much as $6,700 a month.
Those giant list prices send shivers through the insurance industry and across the federal government and state governments, which pay for about 40 percent of prescription drugs sold in the United States.
The Trump administration is working to bring a series of regulations aimed at reshaping the prescription drug market. The goal, administration officials say, is to create more competition and lower costs.
