PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICING: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

There are numerous proposals for controlling the increasing cost of prescription drugs. Some of these rely on more market-based approaches; some of them resemble traditional command and control. Many of the arguments that the free market school makes apply to all policies to control drug prices. At other times, their critique is aimed only at those policies that are the most heavy-handed. This analysis will explore the general policy of price controls on prescription drugs, which may or may not be a part of a future Medicare prescription drug benefit. In all cases, the debate is both fascinating and combustible