Do you mean the ideal number of prescriptions is zero? Medicare does pay less than other insurers but only because of a general law blacklisting companies that

Do you mean the ideal number of prescriptions is zero? Medicare does pay less than other insurers but only because of a general law blacklisting companies that charge the government more than other customers (on the assumption that the govt will always be the single biggest customer but more susceptible to political influence). Drug companies keep this in mind when negotiating with insurers so it's nowhere near as effective as the NHS, which can't pass its costs onto consumers except through new legislation and negotiates for the entire UK population at the same time.