No reason Americans should pay more for prescriptions than any other industrialized nation.
LifeZette: Every day as a practicing cardiologist, I have patients tell me they can’t afford the price of the heart medications that keep them alive and out of the hospital. I know I’m not alone — and these aren’t patients without health insurance.
President-Elect Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that pharmaceutical companies are “getting away with murder” in what they charge the government for medicine, and he promised change. Trump proposes allowing Medicare to negotiate better prices.
However — Trump needs to “go big or go home.” He needs to realize that all Americans are victimized by drug prices in this country, not just the government.
Spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. was $425 billion dollars in 2015 and will likely climb past $610 billion by 2020. Some of these costs we pay out-of-pocket, some of it is hidden in wage stagnation — our employers pay higher health insurance premiums and we don’t see a rise in our paycheck.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said “kicking the can down the road for a year or two years isn’t going to make it any easier to solve.” He’s right in that we don’t have that long, given the rapid rise in Medicare and Medicaid compared to tax revenues. more
Maybe too many man made drugs.
Gotta keep finding new problems for all the new chemIsolutions.
Stay natural, my friends
It is interesting that drugs so costly here are cheaper in other countries. Same drug, same manufacturer.
What Mojo said. Insurance graft. Remember that everytime you see those medmercials and Medicaid aids on tv.
The price of drugs is excessive. Companies often offer discounts, but exclude medicare patients from theses deals. They are the patients who need these drugs the most. Something must be done! Read this entire article.
The problem is NOT non-existent in other countries, just different.
In Germany, you need prescriptions (read: $doctor visits) for TONS of things you get over-the-counter here. Even when you *don’t* need a prescription (one example: epsom salts…SCREW “NATURAL,” Anonymous!), some things can be outrageously overpriced.
the only two countries that allow direct to costumer advertising are America, and new Zealand.
the two countries with the highest prescription drug costs are…..America and new Zealand
somebody has to pay for all those million dollar a minute adds for life style enhancement vanity drugs, and it isn’t only the folks buying the advertised drug…it’s everyone buying any drug made by the company buying the drug.
ban direct advertising and watch drug prices drop to what other countries are paying
side effects may cause dizziness,nausea,liberalism,communism,statism,bleeding gums,bleeding asshole,empty wallet,retardation,suicidal thought,derangement,manic depression,psychotic behavior,
delusions of grander,homicidal tendencies,seeing ghosts,seeing spirits,narcolepsy,constipation and diarrhea.
the fda is one big reason for the prices we are charged.
Probably the real reason for the higher drug prices in America, is they have to have their lobbyist fees to pay off congress. So the Americans get screwed thoroughly. They pay
-congress
-for the drug, which pays congress, again.
Oh what a very wicked web congress weaves to enrich themselves in every manner possible.
Another success for Trump.
Everyone wants lower drug prices. And everyone knows Big Pharma is screwing us.
This is a win-win for Trump and the people.
Encourage healthy competition and the cost of medical care wil drop, as in every other industry.
I don’t know Pharmaceutical financing.
But I do know that, generally speaking, if the gov’t is involved, the taxpayers are gonna get fucked. PERIOD.
Let the “invisible hand” of the market decide.
Just a guess, but all the money stolen from the taxpayers and thrust, hidden and silently, into the field of medicine (broadly speaking – but akin to the money surreptitiously shoveled into Academia) is distorting the market and inflating the prices.
izlamo delenda est …
It’s gonna have to start with Tort Reform. Not a day goes by without me seeing a commercial on TV for an ambulance chaser and a class action suit because someone had a reaction to a drug they took. Shakespeare was right after all!
As a senior citizen on Medicare and a supplemental policy I was shocked to find benazapril/hyrdocholorthiazide jump from $25 for 3 months to $140. each drug separately was about $7.00 for 3 months. Lisinopril/hyrodrochorothiazide was about $25. Basically the same drug.