Reforming Biopharmaceutical Pricing at Home and Abroad

The affordability of healthcare and biopharmaceutical drugs is a top concern for Americans.

It is often asserted that promoting innovation and affordable drugs are conflicting goals. New innovations, however, often provide improved health that was not previously available at any price or obviate the need for more costly care.

They thereby lower the effective price of health down to the price of the patented drugs, and later down to the price of generic drugs. Federal policies that affect drug pricing should satisfy two goals.

First, domestic drug prices paid by Americans should be reduced. Second, the price of better health in the future should also be reduced by spurring medical innovation. This report considers policy options to simultaneously advance these two seemingly conflicting goals.

Click here to read the full white paper by the Council of Economic Advisers.