This morning’s news announced a 26-year-old had lost his life because he no longer had health coverage under his parents’ plan and he couldn’t afford a $1,300-per-month insulin drug on his own. This is truly a tragedy.

However, most people with hospitalization drug coverage are unaware that this country gets the majority of its prescribed drugs from two foreign countries, and some of those foreign drug manufacturers have been receiving FDA warnings for years that their facilities are dirty or outdated, employees are untrained, and products are below par.

Having experienced the “below par” part, I personally try to avoid a particular foreign drug maker. And yet, a patient cannot get an American-made drug because many of these drugs are too costly and aren’t made available to the user due to cost deals negotiated between insurers and pharmacy benefit managers. A sad state of affairs.

Marian Szmyd

Penn Township, Westmoreland County

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