In recent years, Robert Ripley has watched spiking drug prices menace his budget like a fast-rising flood.
The longtime chief of pharmacy for Trinity Health, a Catholic chain of 93 hospitals from New York to California, said he’s never seen anything like it in his 30-plus years in the business. The eye-popping prices of new branded drugs are one issue. But even worse are the wild price hikes and sudden shortages of generics that have been available for many decades.
“We’re paying more for drugs, and sometimes can’t get drugs, that our patients need,” Ripley said. “So we’re going to roll up our sleeves and do what we need to do.”
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