HSS 261 Unit 3 Discussion Board
HSS 261 Unit 3 Discussion Board
The pricing of prescription drugs in the United States is a huge ethical concern because it is immoral to price these critical medications at a cost that many cannot afford. It is true that what is legally permitted is not necessarily ethical. In this case, pricing these drugs and new therapies without ethical considerations about the ability of people to afford them is immoral (Pearl, 2018). The high cost of these drugs will mean that pharmaceutical companies seek their generics to ensure that patients, especially those suffering from orphan diseases, get treatment interventions at affordable price (Pearl, 2019). My concerns from an ethical perspective is that pricing of these drugs negates the need for social responsibility and consideration of an ethical way of providing medical care to vulnerable individuals and allowing them to have access to treatment interventions.
Setting prices for newly developed drugs is critical for companies to make profits and remain competitive in the market. However, the development of new drugs and therapies by organizations should be based on ethics and not being exploitative to the consumers. In this situation, it would be important to consider the overall benefit of the drugs to the consumers while allowing the organization to make modest profits that can cover its costs and expenses based on the research and development (R&D) activities (Mole, 2018). Therefore, it would be ethical to ensure that I set the price based on the need to enhance access to solve health problems that the targeted patients and health populations encounter. Getting a bonus out of making the drug inaccessible due to high prices is not ethical. Further, it may result in the production of generics in the industry which can affect the overall organizational profits in the long-term. As demonstrated by the opinions from the selected articles, it is immoral and unethical to price these drugs beyond the reach of many individual families and patients.
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HSS 261 Unit 3 Discussion Board References
Mole, B. (2018 August 17). Years after Mylan’s epic EpiPen price hikes, it finally gets a generic
rival. https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/08/fda-approves-generic-version-of-mylans-600-epipens-but-the-price-is-tbd/
Pearl, R. (2018 September 24). The Immorality of Prescription Drug Pricing In America.
Pearl, M. (2019 June 14). The ethics behind the world’s most expensive medication.
Assignment Description
Primary Response is due by Thursday (11:59:59pm Central), Peer Responses are due by Saturday (11:59:59pm Central).
Primary Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 200–250 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.
For this Discussion Board, please complete the following:
One of the reasons for the rising cost of healthcare in the United States is the cost of prescription drugs. It is a complex problem and poses many ethical dilemmas for which solutions have yet to be implemented. Pharmaceutical companies set the prices for drugs and negotiate the actual payments with insurers. Insurers do not always cover the full cost of the drugs, leaving even insured patients to pay out-of-pocket for their prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money on developing new medications to help people. The price of the medication must cover the upfront costs of drug discovery, development and testing, and manufacturing. It must also include the cost of the clinical trials required for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before the medication can be sold.
Read the following 3 articles about the high cost of drugs and how the pharmaceutical industry sets prices:
The Ethics Behind the World’s Most Expensive Medication
EpiPen Pricing
Prescription Drug Pricing in America
After reading the articles, answer the following questions:
What may be legally permitted is not necessarily ethical. What are your concerns from an ethical standpoint about the pricing of prescription drugs and the new therapies based on precision medicine discoveries such as the gene therapy described in the first article?
Pharmaceutical companies must make a profit to stay in business, be accountable to their investors, and be able to continue developing new medications. Imagine you are responsible for drug pricing for a pharmaceutical company. The CEO has tasked you with setting a price for a newly developed drug that is profitable for the company and shareholders based on the time and resources that were used for production. If you turn a profit, you will receive a bonus as well. How would you handle the price setting in this situation? Use the resources to justify your decision.
Responses to Other Students: Respond to at least 2 of your fellow classmates with at least a 50–100-word reply about their Primary Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your discussion, please consider the following question:
What differences or similarities do you see between your posting and other classmates’ postings?
For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.
HSS 261 Unit 3 Discussion Board Rubric
ExpectationPoints PossiblePoints EarnedCommentsApplication of Learning Material Content: Post demonstrates understanding of Learning Material content.20Application of Course Knowledge: Post contributes unique perspectives or insights gleaned from personal experience or examples from discipline.20DB Responses: Responds substantively to two posts. Responses encourage interaction in the Discussion Board and classroom community.20Organization: Post presents information logically and is clearly relevant to discussion topic.8Professional Language: Posts contain accurate grammar, spelling, and punctuation with few or no errors. (APA formatting is not required.)7Total Points75Total Points Earned
View a downloadable version of the Discussion Board Grading Rubric.
HSS 261 Unit 3 Discussion Board References
Mole, B. (2018, August 17). Years after Mylan’s epic EpiPen price hikes, it finally gets a generic rival. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/08/fda-approves-generic-version-of-mylans-600-epipens-but-the-price-is-tbd/
Pearl, R. (2018, September 24). The immorality of prescription drug pricing in America. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpearl/2018/09/24/nostrum/?sh=2cd533374fb1
Pearl, R. (2019, June 24). The ethics behind the world’s most expensive medication. KevinMD.com. https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/06/the-ethics-behind-the-worlds-most-expensive-medication.html
Discussion Board RubricExpectationPoints PossiblePoints EarnedCommentsApplication of Learning Material Content: Post demonstrates understanding of Learning Material content. 20 Application of Course Knowledge: Post contributes unique perspectives or insights gleaned from personal experience or examples from discipline.20 DB Responses: Responds substantively to two posts. Responses encourage interaction in the discussion board and classroom community. 20 Organization: Post presents information logically and is clearly relevant to discussion topic.8 Professional Language: Posts contain accurate grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation with few or no errors. (APA formatting is not required.)7 Total Points75 Total Points Earned
