High drug prices push treatments out of reach: Your Say

Spending on prescription drugs last year reached $374 billion, up 13% from 2013, according to a study by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

Keep in mind that with some of these high-priced drugs, you are talking about the ending of a human life vs. profits. It's not that people cannot be saved; it's that some people will not be saved for lack of money.

— Christopher Daly

I'm not a fan of the business practices of Big Pharma, but if drug companies have no incentive for profit, then why would they bother to develop any of these kinds of drugs?

— Charlie Ratt

Death is inevitable. Trying to live a few years extra is not worth destroying your hard-earned savings. Leave them for the next generation. Embrace death with dignity and don't fall for these unscrupulous and morally bankrupt pharmaceutical companies.

— Pradeep Bhaumik

This highlights how having our government of the wealthy, by the lobbyists and for big corporations puts profits before people.

Apparently, life-saving drugs are available only to the wealthy! People are dying so drug corporations and Wall Street can make even more than the billions they already make.

— Gary Faraci

People should do some research on how much it costs to have a medication brought to market. A pharmaceutical company invests tons of dollars in the process. Even after all that money is invested, there is no guarantee the Food and Drug Administration will approve the drug. Then if the drug is approved, the company has only a certain number of years to recoup its investment before the drug goes generic.

If a drug company's profits are diminished, there is less money for research, which could then curtail new drugs to cure diseases. So be careful what you wish for.

— Florida Jefferson

Perhaps if there weren't endless regulations involved in getting drugs to market, medicines would be much cheaper.

— Christopher Bacon

Letters to the editor:

The most evident reason so many seniors have chronic illnesses is because our medical system is not based on preventive care ("Nation's sickest seniors reshape health care"). This is not the case in other parts of the world. It is another scheme by Big Pharma to have seniors maintained on expensive drugs at the end of their lives. We can live to an old age and be relatively healthy with more naturopathic medicine and better preventive care. Seniors have a lot to give to their communities, and they should not be looked upon as a burden to younger people.

Roz North; Dixon, N.M.

The way to stop this immoral travesty of skyrocketing drug prices is to adopt a universal health care system combined with price controls similar to what other developed nations have. Unfortunately, conservatives will never allow this.

Jeff Clauser; Charlotte