I'm a huge free market proponent and I agree this system is not working. It is worth pointing out however that this is not a true free market system. They're many regulations that muddy the water.
Are more regulations the answer or less? Less regulation could lead to competition leading to lower prices. More regulations could lead to less drugs being developed.
I do not claim to know.
I'm not sure a great deal of competition actually exists. Patents are the issue I think. The reasoning given is the same as it is in this post - it costs money to research and develop the drugs, so companies need to protect their product to prevent smaller companies from producing it and cutting into their profit.
In that sense, less regulation would probably reduce prices of some drugs, but would also mean less research. Perhaps the solution is to implement a form of tax. Kill chemical patents and force the companies to spend a certain portion of their profit on research.
Less regulation could lead to competition leading to lower prices.
Less regulation could lead to monopoly, and consumers being completely shafted. All depends on whether the government putting regulations in place is acting in the consumer's interest or the corporations'.
Drug development is not a priority in my eyes (and can be done by universities anyway). We are better served by encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyles, so they are less in need of medication. Of course the drug companies' profit motive is in direct conflict with what is good for society in this respect.
or the corporations
This seems to be the case more often than not.
In healthcare, regulations drive up costs and it doesn't necessarily protect the consumer.
I can't agree strongly enough about healthy lifestyles.
I see the effects of unhealthy people on insurance and Medicare/Medicaid. It's a staggering waste of money. The cost for bariatric patients is obscene. We see too many primary diagnosis that are directly caused by being morbidly obese. I honestly feel if you are above a certain BMI you should not be eligible for Medicare/Medicaid and if you carry private insurance you should be required to pay a high risk premium.
I'm not sure why you would be dowmvoted for saying this. If people are dying because they can't afford to pay drug companies ridiculous amounts of money, the free market has failed and it needs to be regulated.
Anything less than that is idealism.