With prescription drug prices spiraling out of control, much work needs to be done to corral the industry and ensure consumers have ready access to medication. But just as important is holding the companies responsible for this price inflation to account and making sure that the public gets the answers it deserves.
Earlier this year, 44 states filed a lawsuit against Mylan, Teva Pharmaceutical, and 18 other companies, alleging that the companies “systematically” divvied up the generic drug market to avoid competition, boost prices, and maximize profits. This lawsuit comes on the heels of a congressional inquiry, launched in 2014, into the same matter.
Now, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), have accused Mylan and Teva of “coordinated obstruction” and “apparent efforts to stonewall” the investigation. In letters to the companies, Messrs. Cummings and Sanders alleged that Mylan and Teva’s behavior “may have caused further harm to patients and health care providers by delaying the discovery of evidence about the companies’ price-fixing.”
The congressmen’s sharp rhetoric is warranted, as it reflects the frustrations of millions of Americans. The rising cost of prescription drugs has become a major health care issue in recent years — 79 percent of respondents to a March survey by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation said that the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable, and 86 percent supported government action to resolve the matter. Only 25 percent of respondents trusted drug companies to price their products fairly. Figures as disparate as President Trump and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), agree that something needs to be done to bring these prices down (their proposed methods differ, of course).
Companies like Mylan and Teva, companies who have profited heavily off the status quo, are in a precarious position as the government and general public set their sights on the prescription drug industry. And, if the accusations from Messrs. Cummings and Sanders are true, the fear of what may be uncovered is leading to drastic, despicable actions in a desperate attempt to avoid accountability.
But when millions of Americans are imperiled by the ballooning cost of prescription drugs, forcing some people to choose between their health and their financial stability, accountability is needed.
We need clear and detailed plans to pull the country out of this crisis. Drug prices need to come down, and fast. In the meantime, however, Congress and the coalition of 44 states should each continue to investigate the pharmaceutical companies, taking them to task each time efforts are made to delay or impede the probes. On behalf of all those whose lives have been threatened by the out-of-control drug costs, justice must be served.
First Published September 17, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
