Ben Carson mostly blames excessive government regulations for skyrocketing drug costs, as some of his Republican presidential opponents also have done.
Asked in a Wednesday night CNBC debate how drug prices can be brought down, the retired neurosurgeon gave a nod to criticisms that drug companies are raising the costs to increase their profit margin. “There’s no question some people go overboard when it comes to trying to make profit,” he said.
But Carson said it’s mostly because of government red tape that drugs are too expensive for average Americans to afford. He said the average small manufacturer pays $30,000 per employee due to federal regulations for getting drugs approved.
“We’re going to have to have a major reduction in the regulatory influence that’s going on,” Carson said. “The government is not supposed to be in every part of our lives and that’s what’s going on.”
Recent polls, including one released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, have shown that drug prices are the leading healthcare concern among voters. While Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders have released plans to combat them, Republicans have touched briefly on the issue. Sen. Marco Rubio has blamed the motives of drug companies and regulations for the problem.
Voters are also concerned about recent mergers among the big health insurance companies, polls show. Republican contender Carly Fiorina touched on that concern, saying the mergers of big insurers and banks are examples of “big and powerful” companies using “big and powerful” government to their advantage.
“This is how socialism starts,” Fiorina said. “Government causes a problem and then the government steps in to solve the problem.”
