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Contemporary Nursing

Dr. Aurillo

Youngstown State University

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Abstract
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The Problems with Drug Costs

The price of drugs has become quite a problem in the United States. Over the years the

prices of medications have been increasing in price by exponential amounts. People all over the

world are being impacted by this dilemma. There are three different drugs that can be used as

examples. The epipen, solvadi, and insulin. The EpiPen is for those who are having a severe

allergic reaction. It can be necessary to save their life if they come in contact with an allergy.

Solvadi is a medication used to cure hepatitis C. It is a twelve week prescription that can cure the

disease. Finally insulin is needed for diabetics. It allows them to control their blood sugar. These

are extremely important drugs that are needed to save lives and most people can no longer afford

them. With that said, the prices of EpiPens, solvadi, and insulin have gone up too much and now

Americans are suffering because of it.

Let's start focusing on EpiPens. EpiPens are used when a person is having a severe

allergic reaction. The epipen opens the airways of the lungs during an allergic reaction to allow

the person to breathe. Without the EpiPen the person may die. So how bad could the epipen

situation be? Well to start, the price of the epipen has almost tripled its price in the last three

years. Daniel Kozarich from the article "Mylan’s EpiPen Pricing Crossed Ethical Boundaries"

states "EpiPen has gone from $100 for a two-pack in 2009 to $608 today" (Korzarich, 2016).

This quote helps to show the insane increase in price of EpiPens. One reason that could cause

this is that there are no competitors. Mylan is the only company in the United States that sells the

EpiPen and therefore they have no competition. So how are poorer families supposed to afford to

keep an EpiPen in the house incase their child has a severe allergic reaction? How can this be

considered ethical. Insurance companies will not cover the cost and some people even blame

Obama Care for it. On top of that, some states even have laws that require schools to keep
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EpiPens in the nurses office in case of an attack. ince these EpiPens only last around six months

the schools have to keep purchasing new ones. The best part is that this is generally paid for by

the tax dollars of the citizens. Another fun fact about these EpiPens is that only the United States

deals with this problem. Take Canada for example. An Epipen there costs roughly a hundred

dollars. People have already begun going across the border to buy their own EpiPens because of

the huge price difference. With that said, the EpiPen situation is outrageous and Americans are

quickly getting sick of it. Not only are EpiPens are huge issue in the United States, but also

solvadi is causing a problem in price.

They finally discovered a cure for Hepatitis C. This is extremely exciting news for a lot

of people, especially those who have Hepatitis C. The drug used to cure this disease is called

solvadi. Finding the cure to Hepatitis C is ground breaking news except for the fact that it is a

little pricey for some people. One pill for this treatment costs around a thousand dollars. Also, it

is not just a onetime thing. Someone with Hepatitis C has to take one pill a day for twelve weeks.

Resulting in a total of eighty-four thousand dollar treatment to cure the disease. Hepatitis C is

also something that someone would want cure because it can cause some nasty illnesses. Anna

Almendrala from the article "This Is Why Hepatitis C Drugs Are So Expensive" states "infection

will lead to chronic hepatitis-related diseases like liver cancer, cirrhosis or liver disease. In fact,

hepatitis C is the most common reason people have liver transplants in the U.S" (Almendrala,

2015). This shows that Hepatitis C can result in some life threatening illnesses. Most people

cannot afford a treatment that costs around a thousand dollars for one pill. One must ask if this is

ethical of them to charge an outrageous price on something that could save the lives of

Americans. Even though this does not impact that many people, insulin, a drug needed for those

with diabetes, is also a drug that has sky rocketed in price.

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Finally there is insulin. Most people know what insulin is at least used for. People with

diabetes need insulin to control their blood sugar levels so they don't get too high. With around

twenty nine million people in the United States with diabetes; Americans spend the most on

insulin. Alicia Adamcyzk from the article "Insulin Prices Are Skyrocketing, Too" states "the

mean price of insulin increased from $4.34/mL in 2002 to $12.92/mL in 2013—a 200%

increase"(Adamcyzk, 2016). This shows that insulin is increasing in prices by quite a bit.

Americans are going to begin to struggle to be able to pay for their insulin, and diabetics

absolutely need to have insulin. If the prices insulin continues to rise then those with diabetes

that cannot afford insulin can end up dying. There is no reason that other countries are able to

spend so much less on drugs than Americans do and something has to change to fix this.

In conclusion, drugs in the United States are rising in price every year. At this rate many

Americans will not be able to obtain the drugs that they need to keep them healthy. EpiPens,

solvadi, and insulin are just a few examples. It is not fair for Americans that these drugs cost so

much more in the United States than other countries. Overall, things are going to have to change.

Americans should not be leaving the country to buy an EpiPen or any other drugs. These

companies will hopefully start caring more about the people and less about this money. Everyone

needs to realize that there is more to life than just making money and forcing people to spend

ridiculous amounts of money on drugs that they absolutely need are just unethical.
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Adamczyk, A. (n.d.). Insulin Prices Are Skyrocketing, Too. Retrieved November 06, 2016, from

http://time.com/money/4475741/insulin-price-increase/

Almendrala, A. (n.d.). This Is Why Hepatitis C Drugs Are So Expensive ... Retrieved November

6, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-hepatitis-c-drugs-are-

expensive_us_5642840be4b08cda34868c8a

Hudes, S. (2016). Americans turn to Canada for cheaper EpiPens | Toronto Star. Retrieved

November 06, 2016, from https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/08/25/americans-

turn-to-canada-for-cheaper-epipens.html

Kozarich, D. (2016). Mylan’s EpiPen Pricing Crossed Ethical Boundaries. Retrieved November

06, 2016, from http://fortune.com/2016/09/27/mylan-epipen-heather-bresch/

Woodyard, C., Layton, M. J., & Press, A. P. (2016). Massive price increases on EpiPens raise

alarm. Retrieved November 06, 2016, from

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/08/22/two-senators-urge-scrutiny-

epipen-price-boost/89129620/

http://fortune.com/2016/09/27/mylan-epipen-heather-bresch/

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/08/25/americans-turn-to-canada-for-cheaper-

epipens.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-hepatitis-c-drugs-are-

expensive_us_5642840be4b08cda34868c8a
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http://time.com/money/4475741/insulin-price-increase/