Americans spend much more than other western democracies on the medications they need to treat chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. Access to medications is about the same in all of these countries, but Sweden spends one third as much on medications as we do and half the countries spend half as much. The nearest country to our spending level still spends thirty percent less than we do. The reason is clear. They negotiate drug prices at a national level, and we don’t. We are beginning to negotiate prices for a very limited number of drugs. There will negotiations for the price of ten drugs by 2023. The next wave does not come until 2026 and even then there are restrictions on the negotiation. The new drugs are protected until 7 to 11 years past its FDA approval or licensure date. This delay and these restrictions mean the practical impact on the prices Americans pay for medication will be very limited. Most Americans favor negotiations to lower drug prices, but the instant we start pressing for real change, the drugs companies make bogus claims about limits on new drug research and reduced availability of medicines for those who need them. Don’t be fooled by these slick ads.
Because our current system in the US has very high medication costs, 25% of patients with chronic conditions skip doses. These are the people who need medication most. It is a self-defeating strategy. Skipping best practice medications for diabetes and high blood pressure leads to a higher rate of expensive complications. In France and Germany, only 5% of patients are skipping doses because of expense and everyone has health insurance as well. Their approach offers more protection for ordinary people like you and me.
The arguments made by drug companies are purely in their interest and not in the interest of the rest of us. There are companies that develop and make drugs in other countries. The world is not dependent on America medical innovation. A great deal of research is done in other countries and funded there. These foreign companies all charge Americans more for medicines because we don’t negotiate drug prices. For example the French company Sanofi makes a long-acting insulin named Lantus. Lantus costs $375 a month in the US and about $50 a month in Germany, France, and Canada. Novo Nordisk is a Danish company that makes the long-acting insulin Levemir. Levemir in the US costs $290 a vial. It is much less expensive in Denmark. Roche and Novartis are Swiss companies. Astra Zeneca and Glaxo Smith Kline are based in the United Kingdom. Takeda is Japanese. Bayer and Boehringer Ingelheim are in Germany. Nine of the twenty largest drug companies in the world are based outside the US. We pay the highest price by far for their products.
All these foreign companies belong to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America that contributes millions of dollars to congress to keep drug prices high. They spent almost $30 million lobbying congress last year. Pfizer alone spent almost 15 million and Roche, a Swiss company, spent $11million. “The top recipient of drug industry cash was Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina. Major drug industry groups donated $139,500 to his most recent campaign… Drug industry lobbyists viewed Republicans’ control of the Senate as critical to the industry’s interests.” Despite favoring the Republican party, influence peddling was widespread. 214 Republican candidates received $7088314 or an average of over $33,000 per candidate. 189 Democrats received $6623052 or over $35,000 per candidate. That is why we pay far more than other countries for our medications. That is why we don’t negotiate all drug prices.
Laws and regulations still block negotiating most medicine prices that are important to the health of Americans. Our government could have enormous leverage in these negotiations, but it does not use it. Don’t be fooled by slick political ads and double speak. Learn about healthcare spending. Make it clear that you will not vote for politicians who put drug company interests before your interests. That conflict of interest is driving policy on medical costs now. Politics is really all about power and money. You are being taken advantage of. Don’t stand for it.
I didn't know that about politicians - guess I shouldn't be surprised. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Thank you again. It’s all concerning and not sustainable for anyone. US on so many levels has a knee jerk reaction. We do not take a long term approach but react thereby react which is more expensive. At least you are bringing to light improvements that could be implemented that are of benefit and educating us but we sure have a long way to go. Thank you for caring.