Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University is worried about the free trade agreement with Asia.
Secret negotiations this week over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "may lead to higher drug prices for you and hundreds of millions around the world,"
he writes in The New York Times.
"Powerful companies appear to have been given influence over the proceedings, even as full access is withheld from many government officials." Topics for discussion included intellectual property rights.
"These rules could help big pharmaceutical companies maintain or increase their monopoly profits on brand-name drugs," Stiglitz says.
"If big pharmaceutical companies hold sway — as leaked documents indicate they do — the TPP could block cheaper generic drugs from the market. Big Pharma’s profits would rise, at the expense of the health of patients and the budgets of consumers and governments."
The price paid by Americans for brand-name and generic drugs soared 10.9 percent last year, according to research firm Truveris.
Mandi Woodruff of Yahoo Finance offers several tips to save on your prescription drug costs.
- "Generics are still the cheapest option out there," even though generic drug prices are rising, she writes.
- "Insurance isn’t always the best way to save. If you’re using insurance and pay a co-pay of $10 or $20 every time you fill a prescription, you could be paying more than someone who walks in and pays the cash rate."
- "Comparison shop before you buy. If your doctor prescribes a brand-name drug, and there is no generic alternative, ask [for] a few other options that can also work."
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