Prescription Drug Costs  Tags: prescription_drug_costs ugl_subject_guide prescription_drugs  

prescription drug prices
prescription drug costs
medication
Medicare
drugmakers
drug manufacturers
pharmaceutical industry
federal regulation
Federal Drug Administration (FDA)
drug-approval process
drug safety
Orphan Drug Act
Internet drug sales

Prescription drugs have become increasingly important to consumers, especially the elderly, in the United States. At the same time, prices of prescription drugs have risen much faster than the prices for other products. The cost of these drugs has been a source of controversy for consumer advocates, lawmakers, and the drug manufactures. Many insist that the cost has increased to the point of being unaffordable for those that need it and that the solution is federal regulation. Drug companies retort that their products are highly expensive to produce and act as preventative forms of treatment that actually help control rising health care costs. Much of the debate centers on what the solution to the rising drug costs should be: natural market forces, self-regulation by the drug companies, or federal regulation. Variations on this topic include the role of the FDA in the drug-approval and safety process, the surge in drug sales on the internet, and Medicare coverage of prescription drugs.