Why Do Americans Pay So Much For Our Prescriptions (And Canadians Don't?)

[Playinghardball]

This infographic explains it:
Found on Medical Billing and Coding

[Liberal Veteran]

1. Re-importation of Canadian drugs is fine, but doesn't address the real issue.

Sadly, the real problem is that our laws allow pharmaceutical companies to gouge American consumers.

We really shouldn't have to depend on Canadian regulations and price controls to stop this.

Note: I do support buying drugs from Canada as a stop-gap measure.

[Zalatix]

12. The drugs are made here anyway, right?

[karynnj]

14. I think that is part of the point

Why should drugs made here cost MORE 2 blocks from the plant where they are made than after they are trucked to Canada -- and then trucked back (if reimportation were legal)?

The reason is that the patent laws give companies monopolies for several years on drugs they invent. Unlike the local telephone companies which at one time had natural monopolies, they are not regulated by anyone. (It was AT&T, early in its history that proposed the idea of regulation in return for being allowed to be a monopoly.) This means that they can charge what the market will bear. If you have a drug benefit, you may have a tool on their website that shows you how much something costs (retail), what you pay and what they pay. They do not, at least part of the time, pay the retail rate. Obviously, Canada negotiates an even
lower rate with the company.

This means that the person who likely can afford it the least - the person in the US with no drug plan - pays the highest cost. More than the insurance companies and much less than people in Canada.

I understand the reason that this company makes reimportation a step in lowering costs, but I really think that it might be better to try to put in some regulation to replace the various negotiated prices. There is something wrong when the cost of a truck load of drugs made in the US costs so much more to the unisured in the US that adding the two way trucking costs still results in a lower cost.

[riverbendviewgal]

2. The provinces of Canada negotiate with the pharmaceuticals

We are not too happy that Americans come up or go online to get our prescriptions...It does not seem fair .

[Jim Lane]

5. Is there any adverse impact on Canadians?

I would think that adding Americans to the customer base increases a Canadian buyer's market power, strengthening its negotiating position.

If nothing else, there must be some Canadians who are gainfully employed in processing the orders placed by Americans. Someone has to put the pills in the bottles and the bottles in the boxes.

[karynnj]

15. It may run the risk of the insurance company forcing

Canada to NOT sell to US buyers. I could see the drug companies trying to impose that condition if reimportation were made legal here.

The fact that Canada negotiates a better price than our individual drugs plans, which greatly lower the price of drugs compared to what the uninsured people pay creates an arbitrage situation where the drug, made in the US, is cheaper than in the US.

[hifiguy]

3. So obvious that even Timmeh Pawlenty figured it out

a few years ago, at least before he backtracked while running for Prez.

"Where are all the dead Canadians?" was the question.

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. I guess Obama isn't able to do anything about this either?

Bush got Medicare part D enacted. Bad. I guess when those who make our laws

1( don't have to worry about the high cost of prescriptions because they have a cadillac health care plan and

2( can well afford the high cost of prescriptions in any case, can not be bothered by those not fitting either catagory.

I don't know why we bother to bitch about any of this.

No one gives a rat's ass about us lesser people.

All these elitist politicians care about is lining their own pockets while enjoying the benefits of their own taxpayer funded health care plan, which btw, they gave to themselves.

Good enough for them but not for us!

A$$holes! Most of them, with a few exceptions.

Even when it is proved that we already pay enogh to cover everyone and it would cost far less, we get watered down mandated to purchase from private health insurance blood suckers and told that that is the best we hope for. What crap!

[RebelOne]

6. I order my blood pressure meds from Canada.

At lot cheaper than here in the U.S.

[SharonAnn]

10. We used to pay for two round-trips to Chile with the savings from prescriptions there.

Think about it! My husband saved over $2,000 a year buying his prescriptions there and that paid for us to go visit family there. 2 round trip plane tickets and there aren't cheap flight to Chile from the U.S.

[Prometheus Bound]

7. I want to know why Canadians pay so much more than New Zealanders do.

Third graph.

[Posteritatis]

11. Closer proximity to the American markets, maybe

And probably also separate pricing agreements.

[MisterP]

8. the U.S. has never had a 16-star flag

it was 15 stars (and stripes) 1795-1818 and 20 1818/9, but never sixteen

[Quantess]

9. Time for a kick!

[pnorman]

13. Thanks, I'll use that!

[RainDog]

16. k&r n/t

[mwooldri]

17. Another reason why the US pays way too much: no main "big customer".

In the UK, the NHS is the biggest buyer. They set the price, which includes money for the pharmacy dispensing the drug. Even then this is not perfect. The insurance companies in the US are pushing us to go for generic medicines rather than the branded ones... but there comes a time that the branded medicines are discontinued and the generics are all that is left for that particular drug. The cost for that drug comes down when there are many suppliers making that drug but goes up when the supplier for that generic-only drug goes down to one. Since that company is the only source, they can then set their own prices.

[aptal]

18. What we need is a Pharmastamp Card...

That way the poor can get them free and the rich still have to pay for them.