Social Welfare Law Commons^™

High Prices In The U.S. For Life-Saving Drugs: Collective Bargaining Through Tort Law?, Paul J. Zwier

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Sudden exorbitant price hikes to patients who have long taken life-saving drugs are more and more common in today’s pharmaceutical market. The anxiety caused to patients who have been prescribed these drugs by their doctors is predictable and severe. Even when initially covered by insurance or through government programs, patients and their families can soon be made destitute by the high copays or caps on payments. This Essay argues that those who buy up life-saving drugs and decide to raise their prices, despite their knowledge of the consequences to patients, are committing the torts of intentional infliction of emotional distress …