Common treatments and medicines are becoming more expensive and harder to get.

According to a new report released this morning by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the United States is currently in the midst of a major shortage on a variety of commonly-used drugs and medications, including, but not limited to, antibiotics, children’s fever medicine, ADHD treatments, and nearly 300 other drugs.

The current drug shortage has limited access for patients with diabetes who rely on it to control their blood sugar https://t.co/TETMMF1eGx

— CNN (@CNN) March 17, 2023

“These shortages, which reached a peak of 295 individual drugs in shortage at the end of 2022, have left health care professionals grappling with limited resources to treat patients in need,” reads committee Chairman Gary Peters’s prepared statements on the matter.

These shortages have been exasperated by multiple problems in various facets in America and beyond, including a lack of transparency in the pharmaceutical supply line, the rise of inflation, and an overreliance on foreign suppliers who are, themselves, experiencing difficulties.

“Taken together, these underlying causes not only present serious concerns about providing adequate care to patients, they also represent serious national security risks,” Peters adds in his prepared statements.

House Republicans are ramping up their scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration and the White House’s handling of last year’s nationwide baby formula shortage https://t.co/aF0vMhq6qR

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 21, 2023

These shortages have forced many Americans to seek alternative, often costly means of treatment, which has naturally proved problematic for those with lower incomes. Peters has advocated for greater government oversight over the drug production and delivery industry to prevent these kinds of shortages from occurring, as it is his belief that the Food and Drug Administration can no longer handle the matter single-handedly.