Here's why Trump's plan is unlikely to fix America's dystopian prescription drug problem

Fast Company

2 days ago

Most of us Americans have first-hand experience with the broken state of the U.S. prescription drugs market. In March, our son said his ADHD medication wasn't working anymore. We set up an appointment with his pediatrician–which is when the Kafka-esque insurance wrangling began.
The doctor prescribed a medication listed on our insurer's published formulary (the list of prescription drugs, whether brand name or generic, covered by its policies). The insurer denied the prescription, then denied the prior authorization our pediatrician submitted. Then we learned the published formulary was incorrect.
We got a copy of the correct formulary and tried again. We had to call around to find a pharmacy that had the new drug in the generic form (since the name brand isn't covered), only to have the prescription denied again.
Rx Frustration Redux
The insurer told our doctor that a prior authorization was required, even though this medication is on the preferred formulary, so the pediatrician dutifully submitted that paperwork. Several days later, this prior authorization was also denied. The pediatrician's nurse practitioner called the insurer, 'threw a bit of a fit,' and got the insurance company to follow its own rules.