One of the most popular ongoing issues in the world today is the cost of pharmaceutical drugs. The pharmaceutical drug industry plays a major role in the world's economy. The cost of these drugs is continuing to skyrocket. The question that many people have in regards to these prices is why? Why do these drugs cost so much and what is the money actually paying for? Many people seem to think that they have suggestions to solving the problem of the high cost of pharmaceutical drugs. "Why some prescription drugs are so expensive" by Julie Appleby gives some insight into the pharmaceutical drug world, along with some ideas that can be used to combat the high cost of these drugs.  In this article, Julie Appleby uses logos throughout to appeal to the logic of her readers; this is an effective strategy because she writes to the general pubic who have to deal with these high drug prices, thus they will respond more strongly to a list of facts and figures. In addition to her use of logos, Appleby tries to appeal to the reader by using the appeal of kairos to discuss Turing Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company that has been under a lot of scrutiny the past few months.

Julie Appleby introduces the article by discussing Turing Pharmaceuticals, a company that raised the price of an old generic drug by more than 5,000 percent in just one month. She starts off the article by raising the question, "How, critics wondered, could a firm charge $13.50 a pill for a treatment for a parasitic infection one day and $750 the next?" (Appleby). As the reader, this immediately grabs your attention because it is something that is happening in the world and you are able to see the facts that yes, this company did in fact raise the price of their drug a significant amount for no reason, which leads you to wonder how these drug prices are set. The reason that Appleby discusses Turing Pharmaceuticals in the beginning of this article is so that the article can relate to the rhetorical appeal of kairos, which refers to the timeliness. Starting off the article using kairos allows the reader to understand that the rising cost of pharmaceutical drugs isn't just something that is going to occur in the future, but it is something that is occurring right now, as evidence from Turing.

The article goes into discussing the pharmaceutical industry and how prescription drugs have become the fastest-growing segment of the nation's health care tab. Julie Appleby discusses three ideas that could be used to combat the high cost of pharmaceutical drugs which include: disclose drug development costs, cap consumer copayments, and pay up if the product delivers. Along with these three suggestions, Appleby incorporates the counterarguments of these suggestions by using the rhetorical appeal of logos which is a strategy of reason, logic, facts, or any type of argument which appeals to someone's rational side (Wright). The first idea is to disclose the developmental cost of drugs. This initially seems like a fair idea to the consumer. If the consumer is the one that has to pay the price for the drugs, shouldn't they know how much money is going into all of the research and development? Well, many economists believe that looking at the cost of research that goes into the drug should not ultimately justify its price. Through Appleby's use of deductive reasoning, it becomes evident to you as the reader that maybe this is not the best idea. You are able to see that knowing the developmental cost of a drug could be good for the public so that they would know how much money is actually being spent on research and drug development. However, Appleby's counterargument is that these new rules could promote more money to be spent on research that isn't necessary just so the pharmaceutical company can continue to make more money. Another idea that was discussed was to cap the copayments that consumers have to deal with. While creating these laws could help with the cost that consumers have to pay out of their own pockets, the counterargument is that these rules could enforce the idea of putting a higher demand on the use of these expensive drugs that don't have as many less expensive alternatives available. The other idea that was thrown out there was to pay more money if the drug works really well. Many believe that the price of a drug should be a reflection of how effective it is. This seems like a logical idea to the reader because if the drug works then it should cost a little more than the drugs that don't, right? However, Appleby offers the counterargument of how do you know that it was the drug that was effective in treating the sickness? Maybe it was something else that caused the patient to start feeling better? Appleby uses the rhetorical appeal of logos throughout these three ideas to show that while yes, these ideas could help to stop these constantly rising drug prices, there is another side to the argument that you must take into consideration. 

This article enables the reader to see multiple ideas that have been put out there to try and lower the cost of pharmaceutical drugs, however; through the use of logos Appleby offers the counterarguments and the issues that could arise from making these changes. In order to make this article more effective, Appleby should have tried to incorporate more of the rhetorical appeal pathos. By incorporating pathos, she would be appealing more towards the reader at an emotional level and it would make them feel more invested in this issue. Just by giving an example of someone who needs pharmaceutical drugs in their every day life and isn't able to afford them would immediately relate to the emotional appeal of the author. By incorporating the appeal of logos and pathos, it would make the argument of the high cost of pharmaceutical drugs even more effective at the reader's standpoint.

Throughout her article, Julie Appleby effectively uses logos throughout to appeal to the logical appeal of the readers. By incorporating the use of kairos to discuss Turing Pharmaceuticals, it allowed the reader to see that this is an ongoing issue and that it is very relevant today. By incorporating pathos, Appleby would have been able to enhance her argument and it would have had a much greater emotional appeal towards the readers. Overall, this article shows how prevalent of an issue the rising price of pharmaceutical drugs is and Appleby makes you realize that changing the high cost of these drugs is not going to be an easy fix.

