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Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why does the US consumer of said medications subsidize many other countries who have access to the same medications for a fraction of the US sticker price?
Because US voters prefer the free market as opposed to government regulation and nationalized healthcare.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
big Pharma has properties unlike many other business. The R&D is very, very expensive and, income is not directly related to expenses each year. The natural "moat" is such that only a relatively few, giant and wealthy, companies exist over time. ref- The Billion Dollar Molecule
Why does the US consumer of said medications subsidize many other countries who have access to the same medications for a fraction of the US sticker price?
Drug maker thinking
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is not like IT where the Americans are completely dominant and clearly superior. The European pharma companies are doing more than fine, despite their main market being heavily regulated and price-controlled. The less charitable explanation is that US companies want to charge outrageous prices, and the American system let them to, so they do it. That's what the USA are: a machine to prioritize profits over peopl…
Those European companies make most their profit in the US. They would be much smaller without access to the US market.
"Rome said the companies seem to be maximizing prices while negotiating discounts behind the scenes with health and drug insurers and then setting yet another price for direct-to-consumer cash-pay sales." This describes the biggest problem in US healthcare. No clear and consistent pricing. If we had a real market, you would get a prescription and then go to the seller with the lowest price. And everybody would get th…
Health insurance in general is the problem; PBMs/discount cards are just a cherry on top. Insurance is fundamentally incompatible with clear and consistent pricing.
For example, this place does it:
https://surgerycenterok.com/surgery-prices/
Insurance companies do not force the sellers to use complex billing practices, they would benefit from more transparent pricing (since they are seeking to pay less).
The root cause is healthcare is inherently complicated and complex, it has a problem of supply being nowhere near demand, and since prices for things are so high (including liability), there is a lot of cover your ass and fraud prevention going on.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why does the US consumer of said medications subsidize many other countries who have access to the same medications for a fraction of the US sticker price?
Because US voters prefer the free market as opposed to government regulation and nationalized healthcare.
But of a paywall there, can't tell if raw materials and precursors are costing more, or R&D spend is up, or employee wages and salaries have risen. Those are usually the "pressures" on prices. I can't understand what or who might be applying "pressure" to lower prices on oligopolistic pharmaceutical makers.
big Pharma has properties unlike many other business. The R&D is very, very expensive and, income is not directly related to expenses each year. The natural "moat" is such that only a relatively few, giant and wealthy, companies exist over time. ref- The Billion Dollar Molecule
Isn’t this any capital-intensive business with variable demand?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Those European companies make most their profit in the US. They would be much smaller without access to the US market.
Maybe drugs, or these drugs, aren't the most efficient solutions. Shouldn't we direct resources toward more efficient ones?
Turns out all the low hanging fruit have already been picked, so the only "more efficient ones" left are stuff like gene therapy, which are absurdly expensive, but still theoretically cheaper than a lifetime of care. Unsurprisingly the high sticker price draws much backlash from the public and politicians.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why does the US consumer of said medications subsidize many other countries who have access to the same medications for a fraction of the US sticker price?
Because US voters prefer the free market as opposed to government regulation and nationalized healthcare.
Healthcare, like real estate, is a dysfunctional marketplace lacking real competition
But of a paywall there, can't tell if raw materials and precursors are costing more, or R&D spend is up, or employee wages and salaries have risen. Those are usually the "pressures" on prices. I can't understand what or who might be applying "pressure" to lower prices on oligopolistic pharmaceutical makers.
Rueters doesn't show a paywall for me. The source of the pressure described is in the headline though. I'm not sure why OP editorialized it (as it is against hn guidelines): Exclusive: Drugmakers raise US prices on 350 medicines despite pressure from Trump .
The article is about drug pricing, which is the part I found interesting (and by extension thought we’d find interesting). I thought taking it out both saved space and made the comments less likely to veer into flamebait.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Rueters doesn't show a paywall for me. The source of the pressure described is in the headline though. I'm not sure why OP editorialized it (as it is against hn guidelines): Exclusive: Drugmakers raise US prices on 350 medicines despite pressure from Trump .
I think its obvious: theres a LOT of love for Trump here in VC circles. So anything speaking ill of his laughable policies, EO's, and other garbage is -1'ed or flagged to oblivion.