Are Excessively High Drug and Procedure Costs an Ethical Problem?

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Are excessively high drug and procedure costs an ethical problem?
Excessively high drug and procedure costs are indeed a major ethical problem. First, increasing the prices of drugs and procedures beats the logic or purpose of the entire process of developing drugs and coming up with procedures. The pharmaceutical industry exists to help develop drugs and come up with new ways of helping enhance public health. As Codron (np) indicates, making these same drugs and processes expensive undermines the purpose of the entire exercise. The pharmaceutical industry is simply sending the message that it cares more about profits than helping to develop drugs to save lives, which is their sole purpose. There ought to be a balance between looking to be profitable and helping enhance the public’s health.
Second, increasing the cost of drugs and procedures introduces the idea of inequity in healthcare. Pollack (np) shares examples of some drugs that increased their prices to ridiculous levels. Daraprim, for example, increased from $13.59 a tablet to $750, while Cycloserine increased from $500 to $10800 for 30 pills. What such increases do is limit the affordability for individuals with low to medium incomes. The implication here is that only the rich can afford these drugs.
Thirdly, increasing the price of drugs and procedures threatens public health. According to Alvaro, Challener, and Branch (np), these increases marginalize sections of the public. The researchers continue to indicate that people are forced to resort to measures that threaten their healthcare even more. Some patients decide to use alternative medications instead of the prescribed ones. Others cut their medication or decide to skip because of the costs, and some skip refilling prescriptions or crucial procedures. In doing the above, people endanger their lives. However, for many, there are usually no options left.
What are the ethical conflicts in the case below? With the company? With the CEO?
The ethical conflict for the company lies in its purpose to continue developing drugs that will help enhance the public’s healthcare. Pharmaceutical companies are a key cog in helping ensure the healthcare of a country is upheld. Their investment in research and development helps to maintain the healthcare of the public. However, the pharmaceutical industry has become quite competitive, and many are spending billions in marketing as they seek to gain competitive advantages over their competitors. Apparently, the competition is severe to the point that companies are spending more money on marketing than on research and development (Swanson). These expenses need to be recouped, and the only way that can be done is through the sale of drugs. However, this introduces an ethical conflict because the interest of the companies and that of the public end up being at odds. The companies need to make profits and remain competitive while the public needs drugs but at affordable prices.
The ethical conflict involving the CEO of Mylan lies in her commitment to the shareholders as well as ensuring Mylan’s commitment to enhancing the public’s healthcare through the development of drugs. Heather Bresch is expected to come up with strategies that will continue to keep and increase money for the shareholders. However, she is also charged with ensuring that the company continues to be a crucial cog for the healthcare sector. With high prices for drugs such as EpiPen, Mylan’s role in the healthcare sector is compromised and its commitment to public health. Should Heather focus on having Mylan become a major and key component of healthcare through the development of affordable drugs, or should she focus on making the shareholders richer? These are two conflicting viewpoints that greatly influence the decision-making process of the CEO.
Do we need to reconcile the equity of health care distribution? If so, how?
Yes. There is a need to reconcile the equity of healthcare distribution. In the U.S., healthcare affordability continues to be elusive to different categories of people, with the implication being healthcare disparities that condemn a significant percentage of the population to poor health. Baciu et al. (58) note that healthcare disparities could be in the form of ethnic disparities, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, geographic location, disability status, and age. Without equity in healthcare, differential health outcomes become quite evident as more people are without proper care. Baciu et al. (58) note that “health disparities can stem from health inequities – systematic differences in the health of groups and communities occupying unequal positions in society that are avoidable and unjust.” In the U.S, these inequities are avoidable. However, as the healthcare sector becomes more commercialized and focus is turned to profitability levels, more people end up lacking the basics of healthcare. Therefore, there is a need to reconcile the equity of healthcare distribution.
To reconcile the equity of healthcare distribution, the healthcare sector needs to consider community partnerships between governance and local public h...