To use an example. If you crash your car here in Australia and the damage isn't so bad, you'd probably take it to a local panel-beater shop to get the thing fixed for registration to continue on the car. The most common question asked by the panel beater in this circumstance is "Is this an insurance job or are you paying for it?"
If it's just some money out of your own pocket the panel beater will keep the cost at a normal and reasonable level, charging you completely fairly for parts and work involved. If however an insurance company is paying for it and all you're paying is the premium, they will jack up the price and suck all they can out of the insurance company for repairs. Fact of life.
This is why the US health care system is so expensive. Their entire system is based on private insurance companies, being rorted by doctors and the like. Simple fact of life.
So it's no wonder the prices of drugs in the US are jacked up. That's the way it works in the real world. Forget any talk about "market competition" saving the day.
And no, US patients are definitely not subsidising the rest of the world for cheap meds. They are being gouged by Big Pharma corporations who evidently can do whatever they like and charge whatever they like in the world of private insurance. Get the gov to pressure and regulate Big Pharma, like we do in other countries, and Big Pharma won't be allowed to gouge you any more. Don't believe the hype.
But don't try and convince many US citizens of this. Being as they're the blessed gun slinging exceptionals that they are, we're all wrong and they're right. Apparently they have the "best health care system in the world".... Like WTF do we know? We're not "exceptional", and we have "socialised health care" bla.
Whatever.... It's obvious leaving drug pricing to the markets as the US has only benefits the corporations and not the patients. It certainly doesn't work to keep prices down. Fact of life.
The 20 medicines, which together accounted for 15 percent of global pharmaceuticals spending in 2014, are a major source of profits for companies including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Merck, Pfizer and Roche.
Researchers from Britain's University of Liverpool also found U.S. prices were consistently higher than in other European markets. Elsewhere, U.S. prices were six times higher than in Brazil and 16 times higher than the average in the lowest-price country, which was usually India.
The United States, which leaves pricing to market competition, has higher drug prices than other countries where governments directly or indirectly control medicine costs.
That makes it by far the most profitable market for pharmaceutical companies, leading to complaints that Americans are effectively subsidizing health systems elsewhere. more
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