
Americans are skipping medically necessary prescriptions because of the cost - hhs
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/26/people-skipping-medically-necessary-drugs-because-they-cost-too-much.html
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planetzero
Price fixing by the government will only make things worse.

The US creates the majority of new drugs in the world and countries that have
universal healthcare wait for it to be tested and released, create a generic
for a fraction of the cost (without spending the millions and sometimes
billions), and they get to enjoy the benefits.

Without our free market system, more people will die over time because we will
have less innovative and new drugs on the market.

We need to make it easier for drug companies to get new drugs to market
without cutting corners and allow the free market to push the costs down.

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JohnFen
> and allow the free market to push the costs down.

I am the opposite of confident that this happens in the US with drug prices. I
don't think there is a free market for drugs in the US. I think it's largely
gamed.

~~~
planetzero
There isn't a free market because FDA approval takes at least a decade and
hundreds of millions of dollars. The result is only a few companies can
actually get a drug to market and without competition, can set the costs.

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JohnFen
That 44% figure sounds roughly correct. I'd say that about half of the people
I personally know (including myself) have skipped filling important
prescriptions because of the cost at some point in their lives. Some of those
prescriptions are eye-wateringly expensive. I've paid four figures to fill
single prescriptions.

