The debate over pharmaceutical prices is once again heating up as the re-importation issue gains more traction in the lead-up to the US elections. At a conference on drug re-importation sponsored by the Maine Public Policy Institute, AIMS President Brian Lee Crowley was asked to explain why drug prices are lower in Canada.
In answering this question, Crowley drew on some of the latest research, and even gave the audience a foretaste of some new research for AIMS being carried out by health economist Brian Ferguson on this topic. The conclusion? “…if you want Canadian pharmaceutical prices in the US, the steps you must follow are clear. You must cut your standard of living by 20-30%. You must reform your ludicrous product liability laws.
And you must squeeze pharmaceutical industry profits through price controls and dominant purchaser policies, thus causing lower levels of pharmaceutical investment and innovation, getting cheaper prices for medicines already discovered at the cost of prolonged pain and suffering for victims of diseases we cannot yet cure or control. And you must restrict patient access to the latest and best medicines in order to keep costs low.”
To read the whole talk, click here
