The US got ready for drug price controls

David Mitchell has a rare form of blood cancer. In the US, that’s not a cheap diagnosis. “My cancer drugs keep me alive, but my disease is incurable because nothing works forever. Currently, my doctors have me on a four-drug combination that carries a list price of more than $960,000 per year,” he says. Fortunately, Mitchell benefits from Medicare, a federal health insurance plan available for people 65 and over, so most of that cost is covered by the government. Even so, he still faces an annual bill of about $17,000. “The Inflation Reduction Act is going to help patients like me,” he says. “After 20 years of fighting, the government is finally going to do what the British already do. They’re going to negotiate on the prices for the most expensive drugs.” Prescription drugs cost roughly 40% more in the US than in Europe, according to analysts at the