Increased transparency and accountability for pharmaceutical companies

This crisis is the product of broken incentives. There is nothing more profitable for much of the healthcare system than a sick child. Americans with chronic conditions are often put on medications or treatments for the rest of their lives. Reforms across the pharmaceutical industry need to be made, such as reforming the Prescription Drug User Fee Act. Pharmaceutical companies pay a fee every time they apply for a new drug approval, and this money makes up about 75% of the budget of the Food and Drug Administration’s drug division. That creates a barrier to entry to smaller firms and puts bureaucrats’ purse strings in the hands of the pharmaceutical industry.