Hospitals have long had to contend with drug shortages and rising prices, and now several hospital systems are trying to take on these issues themselves by launching a nonprofit, generic drug company.
Yesterday, Intermountain, the Mayo Clinic and other hospital systems and philanthropies including Providence St. Joseph in Southern California outlined the details of the launch and structure, as well as the name: Civica Rx. The independent company will market 14 common generic drugs that are currently in short supply.
How will this affect other generic drug companies? Will it drive down prices? And what will this mean for consumers?
Guests:
Benedic Ippolito, economist and research fellow in Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based conservative public policy research institute
Shana Charles, assistant professor at the Department of Health Science at California State University Fullerton; former director of Health Insurance Studies at UCLA Center for Health Policy Research