Here are five things to know:
1. Earlier this week, lobby group Biotechnology Innovation launched an ad saying drugs’ high list prices do not indicate the money pharmaceutical companies actually receive. Rather, ad claims the “middlemen” accrue a large portion of the profits.
2. As drug prices continue to rise, a coalition including the AARP and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association proposed having pharmaceutical companies submit a request for any price increases exceeding 10 percent for government review. This legislation would make it easier for companies to bring generics to the market.
3. Hospitals are also coming under crossfire, with a recent report finding annual inpatient drug spending at community hospitals increased 23 percent from 2013 to 2015.
4. Pharmaceutical companies have released ads showing how their drugs have saved the lives of many. Pfizer was one such company that released an ad in hopes that “if more people understand what it takes to bring a new medicine to patients, that together we can create a better environment for discovering treatment,” a Pfizer spokesperson said.
5. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Washington lobby group for the pharmaceutical industry, brought the hospital industry into the spotlight saying the United States is projected to spend $3.5 trillion over the next 10 years on the hospital industry, which is three times what the drug industry spends on medicine.
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