Here is another good news/bad news column about the 112th Congress.

The cost of developing drugs is rising at an unsustainable pace, new company formation in the biotech sector has dwindled, and healthcare costs continue to rise. We must craft policies that provide the proper incentives for new technology while making sure that we are getting more value for programs like Medicare.

Abstract:

This study assesses the trade-off between drug safety and price savings in online drug purchases. Focusing on five brand-name prescription drugs, we acquire 370 drug samples from 41 online pharmacies and test their authenticity. Of the 41 websites, 8 are clearly US-based and verified by the National Association of...

The Medicaid drug program wasted $329 million nationwide in 2009 from states all too frequently reimbursing for a version of a drug that is more costly than another product with the exact same active ingredient, dose, form and bottle size.

H.R. 4489 focuses on a specific market: prescription drug coverage for federal employees; the legislation would impose a wide variety of restrictions, controls, and mandates.

Last month, the Drug Enforcement Administration abruptly revoked the narcotics license held by the distributor Cardinal Health, preventing that firm from shipping prescription pain drugs to thousands of Florida pharmacies and hospitals. It's the latest tactic in the DEA's struggle to stem the illicit use of prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin.

Americans have for many years been paying the world's highest prices for pharmaceuticals--but is it more than their fair share?

Scholars from AEI and elsewhere answer key questions about Medicare drug coverage and government controls.