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Consumers in the United States face significantly higher overall prices for prescription drugs than in any other country, according to a new report from the nonprofit research organization Rand Corporation.
It found that across all medicines, Americans pay nearly three times the average price for prescriptions than people in 33 other developed countries. This is true despite the fact that Americans pay far less than people in other countries for unbranded generic drugs, which make up a whopping 90 percent of prescription drugs in the United States. However, this vast amount of unbranded prescriptions accounts for only 8% of annual drug spending.
In contrast, branded drugs account for only 7% of prescription drug volume in the United States, but 87% of overall drug spending. The price differential for these drugs is huge between the United States and other countries, with Americans paying, on average, 4.22 times the price of people in comparable countries, according to Randland. Randland has updated a similar report issued in 2018 with information through 2022.
Retail prescription drug spending has exploded in the United States, increasing by 91% between 2000 and 2020. Currently, it accounts for more than 10% of US health care spending, and it is expected to increase by an additional 5% each year until 2030.
Lisa Russell has covered health and aging for both West Newsmagazine and Mid Rivers Newsmagazine.She is from West St. Louis County [Parkway South, class of 1979] I am a graduate of Mizzou’s School of Journalism. She and her husband have three adult children.
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