In any case, the government would have to increase funding by some amount in order to fund 100% of the costs of bringing drugs to market, including all clinical trials, so as to remove the need for any private investment. If the study cited by the Slate article is correct, then this proposed increase would not have to be as large as some people expect. My person approach when evaluating the cost of proposals for the government to do something new, however, is to be pessimistic and lean towards the larger cost estimates.