SIR Economics Investigation Abstract
ANALYSIS OF RISING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS COSTS
Presenter:
Tulsi Roy, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506
Advisor:
Mr. Michael DeHaven, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506
Abstract:
Since 1995, national spending on prescription drugs has reached a whopping total of $200 billion per year and the individual consumer, unfortunately, has little relief from these price hikes. Quite recently, American citizens and the government have taken an interest in slowing the rising expenses. In this inquiry, I will focus on the factors affecting rising prescription drug costs; the largest being the drug companies themselves, which raise the costs of “me-too” drugs to outlandish prices under the false claim of rising research and development costs. I will also investigate and predict some of the outcomes of implementing such pre-suggested solutions as Canadian drug reimportation and instituting price controls. While I found both answers to be too controversial and unpredictable to employ presently, I found that people should instead aim to shorten the twenty-year patent rights of medicine in order to get generic drugs on the market faster and reduce costs dramatically.