The US Government Accountability Office just released a new report at the behest of Senator Bernie Sanders that finds that Americans can pay more than four times more for prescription drugs than people in Australia, Canada and France. In short, people with basic health conditions such as blood clots, emphysema and bronchitis pay a lot more for life-saving medicines than people in other wealthy countries.
Senator Sanders is drafting legislation that would bring down drug prices and prevent pharmaceutical companies from gouging people in the US. Every other country negotiates drug prices. We need to as well.
Sanders and 17 other Senators, along with scores of House members, also called for President Biden to include legislation that lowers prescription drug prices in the American Families Plan. Americans should not be paying more for their medications than people in other wealthy countries. Biden did not put forward a specific proposal to lower drug prices, but he spoke of his support for lowering prices as part of the American Families Plan.
Senator Sanders wants the projected $450 billion in Medicare savings from lower drug costs over 10 years to go towards additional Medicare benefits, including vision, hearing and dental benefits. He also supports adding an out-of-pocket cap to traditional Medicare.
If you’re wondering about the extent of the differential in drug prices between the US and other countries, here’s some interesting data: In 2020, Americans spent 4.36 more than the French for certain drugs, 4.25 more than Australians and 2.82 more than Canadians. Moreover, even though Canada does not have universal prescription drug coverage, people in the US spend as much as eight times more at the pharmacy for prescription drugs than they would for the same drugs at Canadian pharmacies. Here are some examples:
- Hepatitis C and liver infections: Epclusa (28 tablets), is $36,743 in the US; $17,023.63 in Canada.
- Hepatitis C: Harvoni (28 tablets) is $46,570.33 in the US; $19,084.54 in Canada
- Blood clots: Xarelto (30 tablets), is $558.33 in the US; $85.44 in Canada
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other lung diseases that make it hard to breathe: Incruse Ellipta Inhalation Powder (30 inhalations) is $411.33 in the US; $53.31 in Canada
Australians pay no more than a $28.09 copay for a month supply of these prescription drugs. French people pay no more than $34.03 for these prescription drugs. High income older Canadians with prescription drug coverage have copays of no more than $4.67.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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