Health Insurance

[The Real BigGuy]

If US subsidizes R&D, Why can I buy the same meds in Canada for 20 - 30% less?


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

[ApS]

Originally Posted by The Real BigGuy

If US subsidizes R&D, Why can I buy the same meds in Canada for 20 - 30% less?

I've been asking the same question for years, but only found "Opinion Editorials" (Op-Eds) on the subject.

My guesses are that:

1) Canada helps to fund Canada-Care through fossil-fuel sales to the US; so, American drivers are helping to finance Canada-Care at the gas pump.

2) Canada, with 10% of the US population, can still make major "bulk-purchases" of pharmaceuticals. (Think "wholesale").

3) Until a friend refused a prescription filled with a med from Bangladesh, I didn't know the extent of "other manufacturers" of pharmaceuticals. Just what Canada's pharmacies are selling is a big unknown.

4) Aetna advises they (really, their subscribers) are paying for surgeries deriving from "gender dysphoria". While such elective surgeries go back to the early 70s, their frequency has exploded within the last decade. A life-long regimen of drugs is required to accompany this elective surgery. (And to electively reverse it ) The VA pays for this elective surgery, too.

5) Along with such elective lifestyle choices, NPR reports we are also funding HIV/AIDS patients' drugs. Each patient costs $500,000 for their lifetime purchases of antiretroviral drugs.

6) "We have met the enemy—and it is us"...

.

[MAXUM]

I am by no means an industry expert. However I have seen first hand the money that is spent for R&D and it is NOT cheap. In fact I'll be the first to say that many of the clinical trials that we run go on for years in some cases decades to the tune of millions, tens of millions and even hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

Far as costs of these drugs goes.... everything is relative. If you are concerned about "greedy evil big pharma" better understand the supply chain before you start to lay the blame at the feet of the usual targets. Just like any commodity, these drugs are not sold directly by the drug companies to the consumer, there are a number of middle men that have their hands in the pie and all of them take their cut along the way. Much of the cost you pay at the counter is thanks to the middle men who always seem to get a pass. That said the costs of manufacturing these drugs and the regulations that the manufacturers must adhere to change so what may have cost $5.00 a per pill years ago now may cost significantly more even though the drug itself hasn't really changed. That cost increase can be everything from sourcing raw materials, methods of manufacture, having to keep extensive records of everything, specialized secure shipping, liability insurance, the list goes on and on and on. Ever consider that FDA regulations have something to do with that? You can bet they do and that gets passed right on to the consumer. This industry is VERY heavily regulated by the feds and we all know they care little about efficiencies.

Keep in mind as well most pharma companies do not manufacture the drugs in their portfolio, a third party does.

I am by no means trying to defend the pharma companies, like any other industry they are not all innocent all the time. However I think there are a lot of misconceptions about the industry as a whole and more so how much the feds have played a part in that. So when I see some blow hard politician lamenting the costs of drugs and using the pharma companies as a punching bag it's rather hypocritical considering a significant portion of the costs people pay are because of the federal guidelines the industry as a whole must adhere to. Who put those regulations in place? Oh yeah that very politician who "claims" to care about the little guy.

I might add now that the feds are running a significant portion of the health insurance market it has just compounded the situation and you see that in your ever increasing annual premiums and crappier coverage.

[Macavity]

It seems that there is immunity in numbers all along the supply chain. And not a lot of accountability by regulators, just accountability to them.

mac

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by The Real BigGuy

If US subsidizes R&D, Why can I buy the same meds in Canada for 20 - 30% less?


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Because they may not be the same meds.
Many countries, or regions have different specs for meds. A spec for a drug made for the US may not be the same spec for a drug made for EU or Japan for example.