Every day, medical innovation saves American lives, but those same breakthroughs contribute to our ever-skyrocketing healthcare bill. Part of the reason is that we have no systematic way of determining the value of new gadgets and pharmaceuticals, or of driving down their prices.
For example, Evzio, a new device that rescues people who have overdosed on heroin,, based on its parts—but will instead likely be priced somewhere around $500. In December, Gilead Sciencesthat costs $1,000 per pill.
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Prices for even generic prescriptions Meanwhile, newer and shinier versions of everything from diabetic pumps to cancer drugs. Reining in the cost of all of these new treatments is widely considered one of the key steps to bringing healthcare costs under control.
