While I agree with you and the author, I don't see either of you proposing any solutions, and I don't really have one either. About the closest I can get to is to abolish or at least very radically reform the third-party payer system. But since it's fashionable these days to push for a single-payer system (which is even farther in the wrong direction), that seems at least as politically impossible as anything else that might be proposed. There are a number of modest improvements to e.g. the approval process that would lower risks and costs, but not enough to make any real difference, and even those are politically daunting.
Ultimately, the only way to get new research is to be willing to pay for it. And the only way to get low prices is to be willing to walk away. It might be helpful for people to take a big-picture approach here, and I suspect that if they did, many would decide that maybe having all these expensive drugs and even more expensive medical plans isn't really worth it. You can probably get a lot more enjoyment out of a 60-year life than a 70-year life if every year comes with an extra 10 grand to spend, especially if your last five years would have been spent suffering side effects in a hospital bed. I suppose I'm questioning the author's assertion that (rational) people are willing to pay any price for drugs.
Ultimately, the only way to get new research is to be willing to pay for it. And the only way to get low prices is to be willing to walk away. It might be helpful for people to take a big-picture approach here, and I suspect that if they did, many would decide that maybe having all these expensive drugs and even more expensive medical plans isn't really worth it. You can probably get a lot more enjoyment out of a 60-year life than a 70-year life if every year comes with an extra 10 grand to spend, especially if your last five years would have been spent suffering side effects in a hospital bed. I suppose I'm questioning the author's assertion that (rational) people are willing to pay any price for drugs.