As November turns to December, consumer advocates, stakeholders, legislative staff, and legislators are getting ready for the next Congress. They would do well to read this new article by Professor Robin Feldman of UC Hastings, which helps explain why prescription drugs cost so much and spells out the role drug companies pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play in increasing these costs. In recent years, drug prices have gone up at an astonishing rate, far exceeding the rate of

Every antitrust expert knows that monopolies are harmful to consumers, and that in recent years concentration has become a major problem in many industries. In a recent short analysis, David Leonhardt lays out just how dominant large corporations have become in most economic sectors, to the point where it is harming the United States. Leonhardt begins with the observation that the Boston Tea Party was not in response to a tax increase, but in response to a government sponsore

A new, thoroughly researched article by STAT News examines how a couple of drug companies raised prices for their best-selling arthritic treatments almost perfectly in sync, and how these price hikes have harmed consumers and forced them to pay exorbitant costs. In 2013, AbbVie increased the price of Humira, its popular biologic drug that treats arthritis and other conditions, by 6.9%-well above the rate of inflation. The very next day, the drug company Amgen increased the pr

Yesterday morning Roll Call hosted the event "Election Impact: Improving Patient Care Under a New Congress." The most prominent speaker was Representative Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat who represents Illinois's 9th Congressional District and who will be the Chief Deputy Whip in the next Congress. In a lively session, Rep. Schakowsky promised that House Democrats will mount an aggressive effort to investigate and lower prescription drug prices. The very first question was about d

In yesterday's midterm elections, Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in a sweeping victory which was implicitly a rebuke of President Trump. As of this morning, the Democratic Party has at least 220 seats in the House. Republicans lost 27 seats in the elections, for a rough total of 193. This result offers hope for advocates of reducing drug prices, and the next Congress will make this issue a high priority. While the economy performed well, President Trum

President Trump declared that lowering prescription drug prices was one of his highest priorities. However, his renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) contains protections for brand name drugs and pharmaceutical companies that go way beyond the original treaty. These protections will block generic drug competition and actually increase drug prices at home and abroad. If the President is serious about reducing drug costs, he should eliminate these pro