Anonymous says

There are at least two issues at work here. The first is the one reiasd in the column and relates to pricing of branded agents. This is going to get much more visibility over the next few years as very expensive specialty products become mainstream treatments for for more conditions and cost shifting to patients continues. The second point really speaks to how best to address the broader issue of Rx compliance and whose responsibility it is to do so. Since this is a multi-factorial problem involving benefit design, provider behavior, and patient behavior, one could argue that health plans (or maybe at-risk providers) are best positioned to intervene. Could the biopharma industry help? Probably, but most of the impetus probably needs to come from the folks who have control over more of the influencing factors to address this problem.