Opinion: How Rising Medicine Costs Affect Us

In the last decade, prescription drug costs have increased exponentially. These costs are rising wildly, and many people are unable to comfortably afford these new prescription drug prices. Struggling families who cannot afford these excessive prices have to resort to either using less effective medicine or making significant sacrifices. The unfortunate fact is that these medicine prices did not just rise, they are continuing to rise. Corporations are marking up prices knowing there is nothing we can do about it. It’s greedy and overall cruel.

So why are prices rising? The first reason is the lack of substantial competition. An example is the key companies that make most of the world’s insulin. They don’t really have big competitors, so they’ve realized whenever they raise prices most people will be forced to make a choice: use the insulin that they have been using for years or switch to a cheaper brand, without any idea of the negative effects it could have on their bodies. Most of us would typically choose the first, as it is realistically the more feasible option.

The next reason is that there is no real way for the typical individual to know much about drug prices, so they will likely just blame inflation. In fact, companies have discovered a legal loophole that lets them increase prices without needing the FDA’s approval. Because of this, big corporations reasonably believe they can inflate the prices with no significant reaction.

These prices for prescription drugs may not present a problem for you, but they do for many other Americans. These big companies are charging more, either because they do not have enough competition or because the ordinary buyer does not know enough about it to sense something is amiss. We as students most likely cannot create significant competition for these companies, but what we can do is educate ourselves on the topic. Below I have listed a website that delves into more detail about what is happening. If you want to do more than learn, you can also write to your local congressman.

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NICK HANKINS

Writer at The City Voice

Hello, my name is Nick. This is my 3rd year at City and I am excited as ever to begin the new school year. This is my first year at The City Voice and I look forward to joining the school family that is The City Voice Paper.