How Public Pharma Can Fix Our Prescription Drug Crisis

We Can Do Better · Jul 9, 2026 · 42m · transcript

In this episode, we talk with Mara Heneghan about something called “Public Pharma,” which can fix our current prescription drug prices. Mara is director of the Health and Political Economy Project at the New School’s Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy, where she works on health-focused policy and programs.

Polling consistently shows a disturbing fact: 4 in every 10 Americans report skipping prescription doses because they can’t afford their cost, something we know can cost lives. Affording prescription drugs always ranks at the top of Americans’ concerns, and certainly a struggle…