The high cost of pharmaceuticals is an issue that garners plenty of attention from the media, health care researchers and policy makers. Most projections call for further increases in the share of health care spending that goes toward drugs. Since other countries have policies to restrict the prices of pharmaceuticals or are provided free or at reduced charges by the government, drugs are often available in other countries (like Canada) at lower prices than in the U.S. Some have proposed allowing the importation of these cheap drugs as a way to control costs in the U.S. (some of which originate in the U.S.!), but there are many laws and regulations that prevent consumers and re-sellers from transporting pharmaceuticals across borders to take advantage of these price differences (a type of arbitrage).
For this discussion post, I want you to briefly analyze this proposed policy intervention. Some questions to prompt your writing: Why do some people think this policy is necessary? Is there an economic justification for this policy? What are the pros/benefits? What are the cons/costs? Are there likely to be unintended consequences? Are there better alternative policies? If so, why? What are the political considerations? Are lobbyists and special interest groups involved? You are free to do outside research, but it is not required. If you do use outside sources, please cite in APA format after your post. You do not need to answer all of these questions, they are just suggestions to get you thinking.
