Americans are paying a lot more for certain prescription drugs than people in other countries doand that's a problem, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.
In a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers argue that we're paying too much for certain drugs because we don't consider their value to society.
"The cost of the treatment is more than the value of health benefits to patients and broader society such as caregivers and communities," the researchers write.
"Pricing below value means that incentives for innovation may not be sufficient to induce optimal R&D investments."
In the US, for instance, some cancer drugs cost five times as much as those in other countries, the Washington Post reports.
The researchers say the problem could be fixed by linking drug prices to the value of other health care goods and services.
"Price should be linked to their health and economic value," the researchers say.
"Taking a societal perspective for quantifying costs and benefits would produce greater value for money while continuing to provide global incentives for innovation."
(Here's how a drugmaker raised the price of a life-saving drug 5,000%.)
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