Prescription Drug Pricing Pathfinder
OVERVIEW

This Pathfinder is designed to assist policymakers interested in prescription drug price reform, or anyone interested in why drugs cost so much and what can be done about it. The Pathfinder attempts to lay out, in non-technical language, the most important sub-issues within the problem, and then point the way to sources of more information on that sub-issue. Because of its structure, some sources are referenced in more than one place within the Pathfinder. All pages are linked to the Table of Contents.

Prescription drug pricing legislation, and the drug industry's response, is evolving extremely quickly at this writing. This Pathfinder should be used as a guide to finding the latest information, not as the last word on the subject. Because the issue is so current, nearly all pertinent information is available on the web. I have provided as many links as possible, but have also included non-electronic contact information in case the links disappear. In some cases the only available information or analysis at this point is from popular news sources. Many publications provide no more than anecdotal or minimal information, but the New York Times in particular has done a good job of covering the issue since late 1999. The Washington Post is another good news source. Both are available on-line. Viewing the current day's edition is free, and searching past issues is free and fairly easy. The Times charges about $2.50 to retrieve archived articles; the Post charges $2.95 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. (E.T.) Monday-Friday, $1.50 at other times.

A small but important research note:
Although the industry prefers the more formal term, "pharmaceutical," your searches are likely to be more fruitful if you use the term "drug." Most legislation, news, and analysis employs the phrase "prescription drug price" (or "pricing").

I found virtually all the sources listed here via what I like to think of as an "organic" (rather than "unorganized") method. I became interested in the topic after reading newspaper accounts of pharmaceutical pricing and talking with an economist at Kaiser Permanente. I began my research by reading current newspaper articles covering Medicare prescription proposals and efforts by New England states to rein in prescription prices. By noting who the articles were citing, looking up state and federal legislation and laws, and combing around the web for pharmacy-related sites and information, I found most of what is presented here.

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