According to this article http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/226896.php, Pharmacists and drugmakers cite the following reasons for drug shortages:
* Product recalls
* Contaminated vials
* Difficulties in importing certain raw materials
* Demand fluctuations
* Production plants being upgraded (and closed while the upgrade is being carried out)
FYI, it’s worthwhile to read the entire article cited in this post; economics and regulations are mentioned as well.
The article was not very specific about the reasons for shortages. There may be different reasons for different drugs. I suspect the shortage involves the interaction of commodity price increases and government interference involving price controls and excessive regulation. Foreign governments impose tight price controls on drugs. Obamacare has brought conditions that have imposed defacto price controls here. Drug companies may be losing money on production given the fixed prices and increasing costs of raw materials. It is rational to reduce production to deal with marginal losses.
The shortages would be easily resolved by eliminating price controls. Since few want to pay for health care, easing price controls is not an option. We will be forced to suffer shortages. Medical care shortages are coming. Even without Obamacare, medical care would be strecthed to its limits with the aging population. Obamacare will break the back of the health care industry even without a shrinking dollar.
We are living in a twist of the classic grasshopper-ant story. The ants wisely save for the coming winter but the grasshopper ignores the obvious need to save. Democrats are the grasshopper party buying votes by intergenerational theft. The baby boomer’s time of need is near but the kitchen is bare, looted by the greatest generation and other Democrat voters who demanded services funded by the excess payroll taxes.
The baby boom generation was seduced by misinformation about the impact of the massive government debt. The misconception is that the young will bear the brunt the impact of unsustainable government spending. It is obvious that everyone will be impacted. The largest impact, howver, will be felt by the baby boom generation. When many baby boomers can no longer work or have much reduced capacity for work, the economic impact will occur. Shortages in health care and inflation will leave the elderly baby boom generation in difficult times. The young do not need much health care as well as possessing the ability to work and adapt to lowered expectations.