Patient FAQs
Why do medicines cost so much?
The price of medicines is a concern to many people, yet the cost of
conducting the work continues to rise. Discovery and development of medicines
is a high-risk endeavor that requires the investment of billions of dollars.
Only one compound in 10,000 tested advances to human clinical trials and
ultimately becomes available to patients. Only three out of 10 new medicines
produce revenues that match or exceed average research and development costs.
Additionally, pharmaceuticals represent only about 10 cents of every dollar
spent on health care. (www.phrma.org).
Studies have shown that pharmaceuticals provide value, because for each
additional dollar spent on newer pharmaceuticals, $6.17 is saved in total
health care spending, $4.44 of which comes from savings in hospital spending
(www.innovation.org).
When pricing our medicines, we consider multiple factors, including research
and development costs, manufacturing and quality assurance costs, the
therapeutic value of the product and government regulations. We work to strike
a balance between maximizing patient access and ensuring a sustainable return
to fund our future research and development. The pricing of medicines is a
complex process that is best managed through free-market mechanisms. The
distribution of our products varies across markets and involves many players
who influence the cost of medicines for patients. In the United States,
pharmaceutical companies do not set prices for cash-paying customers – retail
pharmacies do – and there is tremendous variability in pricing at the retail
level for the same medicine.
At our company, we offer our employees 100 percent coverage on Abbott
medicines and diabetes care products.
How is Abbott helping uninsured Americans to access
medicines?
We believe that all people should have access to quality health care, and
solutions need to be found to help the more than 46.6 million Americans who do
not have health insurance (www.census.gov). Through our patient
assistance programs in the United States, we provide free medicines to
financially disadvantaged patients who do not have prescription drug coverage.
Additionally, we participate in industry-wide initiatives to help low-income,
uninsured or underinsured patients access free or discounted medicines. Abbott
also supports equal access to innovative therapies for everyone through options
that may make health insurance more affordable, such as tax credits that allow
individuals to purchase health care policies, premium subsidies and employer
purchasing pools. We supported the enactment of the Medicare Modernization Act,
which added voluntary prescription drug coverage to the Medicare health
insurance program for people in the United States who are over 65 years of age,
or have certain disabilities or serious kidney disease.
Why does Abbott oppose the importation of medicines from
Canada to the United States?
Product safety is our primary concern regarding medicines imported from
Canada. Currently, there are no mechanisms in place to monitor the safety and
efficacy of imported products (www.aarp.org).
Furthermore, we believe that importation is not a solution to making
medicines more affordable for patients. According to a recent AARP Bulletin,
Americans who choose the least expensive Medicare benefit plan in their area
that covers all of their medicines could pay less than they would if they
purchased the same medicines in Canada. Moreover, importation of medicines also
poses safety concerns. The U.S. FDA has stated that it cannot ensure the safety
and effectiveness of pharmaceuticals imported via parallel distribution
channels that lack regulatory or quality oversight.