I see people saying that drugs in the US are twice as expensive as other countries in the comments. I'll summarize [0] which is one of the sources for that number.
People in the United States spend roughly 2x per capita compared to Germany, Canada, and the UK. This does not mean that drugs in the United States are twice as expensive.
The US tends to use newer molecules in the drugs that are purchased -- particularly ones that are still patented and more expensive. Other countries like Germany and the UK tend to use older drugs (e.g. molecules over 30 years old).
A naive analysis would notice that the US spends more on drugs for a lower number of sales and would conclude it's because prices are high, but that ignores the fact that US doctors tend to prescribe newer on-patent drugs which are -- drumroll -- more expensive and not necessarily more effective. I'd argue this is the fault of the doctors prescribing the drugs more than any drug company's fault.
If you examine Exhibit 6 in the study, you'll see that, yes, the United States does tend to have more expensive drugs than most other countries but it is NOT an outlier. For example, Japan and Mexico pay more than the US for the same drugs on average. Drug prices are not nearly as big of a problem as people make it out to be.
Also, to its credit, the US also has significantly cheaper generics and over-the-counter drugs.
People in the United States spend roughly 2x per capita compared to Germany, Canada, and the UK. This does not mean that drugs in the United States are twice as expensive.
The US tends to use newer molecules in the drugs that are purchased -- particularly ones that are still patented and more expensive. Other countries like Germany and the UK tend to use older drugs (e.g. molecules over 30 years old).
A naive analysis would notice that the US spends more on drugs for a lower number of sales and would conclude it's because prices are high, but that ignores the fact that US doctors tend to prescribe newer on-patent drugs which are -- drumroll -- more expensive and not necessarily more effective. I'd argue this is the fault of the doctors prescribing the drugs more than any drug company's fault.
If you examine Exhibit 6 in the study, you'll see that, yes, the United States does tend to have more expensive drugs than most other countries but it is NOT an outlier. For example, Japan and Mexico pay more than the US for the same drugs on average. Drug prices are not nearly as big of a problem as people make it out to be.
Also, to its credit, the US also has significantly cheaper generics and over-the-counter drugs.
[0] https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.27.1....