By: Nina He

Tina, in Royal Oak, MI, is in impossible situation. And one that millions might relate to. While sitting down and talking to researchers, she said, “My sister has had to go without health insurance for years and let her health go while taking care of our elderly parents and disabled sister. Our developmentally disabled sister has teeth that are so bad they are falling out because Medicaid doesn’t cover dental anymore and social security pays for necessities. I had two other friends pass away from lung cancer that we held fundraisers for because the experimental treatments they were trying to save their lives with were not covered by insurance. These are but a few of the reasons why everyone in this country needs to have access to affordable, quality health care no matter what their health situation.”

Insurance. People just can’t afford it anymore. Prescription medication prices have risen over the last few years. 1.1 million+ Medicare patients could die over the next decade because they can not afford to pay for their health. If drug pricing trends and associated cost-sharing continue, there is an estimated amount of 112,000 deaths a year, making it a leading cause of death in the U.S.

How do we fix this problem?

There are many solutions: the government can pay for insurance, like in some other countries, or…the government can establish a BTA—or a trade agreement—with the EU.

By increasing the competition between the drug producing firms, we could lower the prices of drugs significantly. With this decrease, hospitals will be able to purchase cheaper drugs and therefore lower the price of insurance. Sure, it’s not a direct effect, and it might not work, but other solutions can be just as difficult and complicated.

There’s no telling what the future will hold, but a trade agreement with the EU just might make it a bit brighter.

Image Credit by Mikhail Nilov