30 years of media coverage on high drug prices in the US – a never-ending story or a time for change?
Background US drug prices are among the highest worldwide as US policy makers have historically been reluctant to embrace price regulations, instead relying on market forces to set prices. However, the introduction of a number of breakthrough, highly effective and high-cost specialty medicines over the past years has stoked the fire of the long-running drug price debate in the USA. The prices of those specialty medicines – more than $100,000 per treatment course – have resulted in widespread outcry among patients, providers, insurers, and members of the Congress and the Senate. We aimed at analyzing whether the recent debate on drug prices reflects a sign of change in the drug pricing debate in US print media.