When anyone proposes reducing prescription drug prices — as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders recently have — the most commonly heard criticism is that it would squelch innovation. But not all pharmaceutical innovation is valuable. Though some drugs are breakthroughs, some offer only marginal benefits at exorbitant cost.
There is a way to keep prices low while encouraging drug companies to innovate: Look to Europe and elsewhere, where drug prices are a fraction of those in the United States. That’s the topic of this week’s Healthcare Triage.
This episode was adapted from a piece Austin wrote for the Upshot. Links to references and further reading can be found there.
