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> Why are prices not falling? In many European countries, prices are negotiated by the publicly-funded health service or a government-appointed body. Every co

> Why are prices not falling? In many European countries, prices are negotiated by the publicly-funded health service or a government-appointed body. Every country will attempt to negotiate the cheapest price they can get. Even so, drug prices across Europe vary widely by country. And there are powerful European pharmaceutical companies[1] who naturally resist price discounts or cheaper alternatives (UK example: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/01/drug-giants-threaten-nhs-with-legal-action-over-cheaper-drug-that-could-save-84m-a-year https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/01/drug-giants-...). [1] Large European pharmaceutical companies: GlaxoSmithKline (British), AstroZeneca (Anglo-Swedish), Novartis (Swiss), Roche (Swiss), Bayer (German), Sanofi (French)

omarforgotpwd 9y ago
Perhaps this is working better at the moment than the American system in some regards (such as price), but I'm wary of any third party (especially the government) setting prices. Should the government tell Apple what they can charge for a phone, or what you can charge for your web service? A good system should set the price automatically. For those rolling their eyes, yes, clearly this market system for health care has not been invented yet. But that doesn't mean it's not possible.
- gepi79 9y ago
  European governments can not and do not dictate the prices of products of companies like Apple or BMW. IMO there is a clear difference between health and survival and a new phone or a new car.
- kulu2002 9y ago
  That's precisely where everyone is mistaking. Healthcare has turned into profit making business. Doctors, healthcare organisations, Multi speciality hospitals are more concerned with profits, top line, bottom line, share-holder values, etc. In India, there are still some old, reputed, brilliant Ayurveda/ Allopathy/ homeopathy doctors who are treating patients for nominal charges over decades of their practice just because of one principle - Treating patient means service to God. [1] https://www.thebetterindia.com/107629/balwantghatpande-oldest-doctor-pune-india/ https://www.thebetterindia.com/107629/balwantghatpande-oldes...
chimeracoder 9y ago
> Every country will attempt to negotiate the cheapest price they can get. Even so, drug prices across Europe vary widely by country. And there are powerful European pharmaceutical companies[1] who naturally resist price discounts or cheaper alternatives The only reason those countries are able to "negotiate" low prices is that the US is a much larger market and doesn't fix prices, so they can simply mark up prices in the US to make up the difference. Every single one of those European pharmaceutical companies you mentioned? They make the bulk of their revenue in the US market, even though Europe is more than twice the size of the US. That's why half the R&D done in the entire world is done in the US, and a large portion of the R&D done elsewhere is still funded by revenue generated from the US market.

omarforgotpwd 9y ago

Perhaps this is working better at the moment than the American system in some regards (such as price), but I'm wary of any third party (especially the government) setting prices. Should the government tell Apple what they can charge for a phone, or what you can charge for your web service? A good system should set the price automatically. For those rolling their eyes, yes, clearly this market system for health care has not been invented yet. But that doesn't mean it's not possible.

gepi79 9y ago
European governments can not and do not dictate the prices of products of companies like Apple or BMW. IMO there is a clear difference between health and survival and a new phone or a new car.
kulu2002 9y ago
That's precisely where everyone is mistaking. Healthcare has turned into profit making business. Doctors, healthcare organisations, Multi speciality hospitals are more concerned with profits, top line, bottom line, share-holder values, etc. In India, there are still some old, reputed, brilliant Ayurveda/ Allopathy/ homeopathy doctors who are treating patients for nominal charges over decades of their practice just because of one principle - Treating patient means service to God. [1] https://www.thebetterindia.com/107629/balwantghatpande-oldest-doctor-pune-india/ https://www.thebetterindia.com/107629/balwantghatpande-oldes...

chimeracoder 9y ago

> Every country will attempt to negotiate the cheapest price they can get. Even so, drug prices across Europe vary widely by country. And there are powerful European pharmaceutical companies[1] who naturally resist price discounts or cheaper alternatives The only reason those countries are able to "negotiate" low prices is that the US is a much larger market and doesn't fix prices, so they can simply mark up prices in the US to make up the difference. Every single one of those European pharmaceutical companies you mentioned? They make the bulk of their revenue in the US market, even though Europe is more than twice the size of the US. That's why half the R&D done in the entire world is done in the US, and a large portion of the R&D done elsewhere is still funded by revenue generated from the US market.