Thanks, I did read this (and thought that it should have been put much earlier in the article and expanded on). But what was left a little unclear to me is whether the deductible calculation was based on the list price. I guess it is, but that does seem pretty dubious. I guess one of the advantages of a single-payer system is that it is a single-price system; I wonder if we don't have the political will for a single-payer system if there is any chance we could at least get a single-price system (or, failing that, at least a system where people who have insurance don't pay more for stuff out of their deductibles than their insurers will pay after they exhaust their deductibles).
I think that the insurance plans I've had have had a flat price for generic and name-brand drugs or at least a cap for each category. So yeah, this is a win for insurers and manufacturers, at the patient's expense.
