The free market is alive and well when it comes to drug prices – if you’re an insurance company or a government program. But not if you’re a consumer. Top-selling pharmaceuticals, protected by patents, often seem priced in a manner that has little to do with the laws of supply and demand. Want that new cholesterol medicine ($2,000 per year), that cancer treatment ($60,000 per year) , or the medicine for your child’s rare disease ($300,000 per year)? No negotiation. It’s your money or your life.
