US gov't largely to blame for high drug prices: USA Today

NEW YORK - The US government, besides the pharmaceutical companies, is largely to blame for high drug prices, The USA Today has reported on its website.

One of the big reasons why drug prices are so high lies in the federal government, which protects the pharmaceutical industry from competition abroad.

"But the biggest reason why drug prices are high is the 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act, which allows drugmakers to maintain a monopoly on new products until their patent expires," the report said.

The drugmakers have learned to extend patent protections, and enhance their control of a medicine by tweaking their products in trivial ways, such as changing pill coating, and then applying for another patent.

Medicare and Medicaid also share blame for the high prices, as those rules give pharmaceutical companies an incentive to keep drug prices higher than necessary.