History

Macklin, R. (1999). Enemies of Patients. Oxford University Press.

This nonfiction book discusses the limits of autonomy as well as patients’ rights. Macklin

covers many aspects, from pregnancy to DNR’s and especially bureaucrats. His knowledge

comes from various cited sources as well as personal experience in the field. My main purpose

for using this source will be to help describe the negative impact of many groups, mainly

bureaucrats, on patients.

Steensma, D. P., & Kantarjian, H. M. (2014). Impact of Cancer Research Bureaucracy on

Innovation, Costs, and Patient Care. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 32(5), 376–378.

[Link]

The journal entry highlights the difficulties that bureaucracy has placed upon the medical

industry, which in turn end up becoming increased prices to patients. The authors explain that

many unnecessary steps are taken, in addition to a few necessary steps, that lengthen and even

delay important research or even trial medications. This article will be used to highlight the

ridiculous nature of bureaucracy in medicine.

Woolhandler, S., & Himmelstein, D. U. (1991). The Deteriorating Administrative Efficiency of

the U.S. Health Care System. New England Journal of Medicine, 324(18), 1253–1258.

[Link]

While this is a slightly older article, its relevance to history and even its projections of the

future (the current day) are shocking. Its direct comparison of the administration of the U.S.

health care system and Canada’s system paints a picture of inefficacy and red tape. Finally, I will

use this article to show what America’s system looked (and likely still looks) like.
 Present

Dickman, S. L., Himmelstein, D. U., & Woolhandler, S. (2017). Inequality and the health-care

system in the USA. The Lancet, 389(10077), 1431–1441. [Link]

6736(17)30398-7

This article beautifully highlights everything I wish I could explain. It covers inflation of

prices vs salaries, insurance premiums and copays, and more. It also talks about the

discrimination faced by the poor and even middle class when trying to pay for medical costs.

Lastly, it talks about how the physicians hate what is going on and are trying to stop it; People

are dying because they cannot afford healthcare. I will use this article much, as it has many

useful data points.

Santerre, R. E., & Vernon, J. A. (2006). Assessing consumer gains from a drug price control

policy in the United States. Southern Economic Journal, 73(1), 233.

doi:10.2307/20111885

This article offers the other side of the coin and explains that there are some benefits to

increasing the price of drugs. Although, it does so in relatively negative light, as it begins the

article by explaining that its probably not worth it due to the lack of access these prices cause. I

will use this to both cover the other side of the argument and also show that the price is too high.

Thomas, K., & Ornstien, C. (2018, March 6). The Price They Pay. The New York Times.

This article beautifully illustrates how much of an issue the price of healthcare is. It also

shows how the government directly helps and indirectly hurts the people it is meant to protect.

This article will allow me to effectively demonstrate the absurdly high prices of medicine.
 Future

Peterson, P. G. (2019, November 14). Total Prescription Drug Expenditures Per Capita [Digital

image]. Retrieved April 10, 2021, from [Link]

prescription-drug-prices-rising-and-how-do-they-affect-the-us-fiscal-outlook

This graph illustrates the projected cost increasing greatly for individual citizens, and I

will use it to describe just that. The 2007 price was around $800 per capita, but 2027 is projected

to be double that.

Why are prescription drug prices rising and How do they affect the U.S. Fiscal outlook? (2019,

November 14). Retrieved April 26, 2021, from [Link]

are-prescription-drug-prices-rising-and-how-do-they-affect-the-us-fiscal-outlook

This article predicts the rising costs of prescription drug prices and notes the key features

why said prices are rising. It explains that monopolistic control over brand name drugs (often

without generic counterparts) lead to extremely unfair prices. It also lists a few possible

recommended solutions to said issue. One of which is to increase antitrust enforcement and

break up these monopolies. I will use this article to explain my predictions and also some

solutions.

Doctor, A. (2021, April 1). Rising Cost of Healthcare [Personal interview].

A personal interview I did with a doctor, who wishes to remain anonymous to avoid the

insurance company’s gaze. They were incredibly helpful and provided me with an inside look at

both the computer systems the companies use as well as just how bad they are outside of the

computers. My personal favorite quote being, “It’s a broken system.”

Langreth, R. (2020, September 16). Drug Prices. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from

[Link]

%20more%20on%20prescription,routinely%20cost%20%2410%2C000%20a%20month.

This article explains in layman’s term the general argument that pharmaceutical

companies have to their high prices. It also summarizes the former president’s actions and how

they may affect the future of pharmacy. I will likely use this in the future section to highlight

Donald Trumps decisions, both good and bad.

Laugesen, M. (2016). Fixing medical prices: How physicians are paid. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press.

This general audience book explains the medical care system in the united states.

Offering direct descriptions of the flow of money, this book helps to explain where the money is

truly going vs where companies are saying its going. As such, I will use this book to show pay

discrepancy between medical professionals and the costs of their procedures.

Robak, W. (2021, January 28). Drug prices in the U.S. are 2.56 times those in other nations.

Retrieved April 27, 2021, from [Link]

%20comparison%20nations.&text=The%20one%20consistent%20area

%20where,average%20paid%20in%20other%20nations.

This study found that the price of brand name drugs is 3.44 times larger in the US and

comparison nations. Mostly, this article will be used for that sole fact, however it may provide

some additional information.

Hong, M., & Shcherbakova, N. (2020). Comparison of discounted and Undiscounted cash prices

for Cardiovascular MEDICATIONS by type of US Community pharmacy. Journal of

General Internal Medicine, 36(1), 114-120. doi:10.1007/s11606-020-06149-7

This article offers a potential solution to the individuals who may struggle with paying

for medicine. It reduces the price of generic medicines by a statistically significant amount, and

while it may not be statistical, it also reduces brand name medicines by an amount the I

personally deem worth it. I will include it in the potential solutions section of my paper.

Hackett, M. (2020, November 05). The average cost of hospital care FOR COVID-19 ranges

from $51,000 TO $78,000 based on age. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from

[Link]

ranges-51000-78000-based-age

This article connects my paper to a relatable issue by also explaining how ridiculous the

prices are. It also demonstrates the unfair pricings to individuals without insurance, or with

minimal insurance. All in all, I will use this article to connect to the audience.