New Approaches on Energy and the Environment

CHAPTER

20

Getting Serious About Antibiotic Resistance

by Ramanan Laxminarayan

Every year in America, some 40,000 people die from infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria, only slightly less than the number of those killed on our roads. This may actually be an underestimate, because many other deaths, particularly those of elderly patients suffering from a myriad of problems, may in reality be caused by these so-called superbugs. Mr. President, in order to address this serious threat to the nation’s public health, I recommend that you introduce legislation to discourage the use of antibiotics where they bring little benefit to patients. These measures would include increasing cost-sharing for antibiotics under Medicare and Medicaid, ...