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> Anyone who thinks that competition will somehow magically fix this isn't paying attention to how markets actually work. If you allowed foreign doctors to com

> Anyone who thinks that competition will somehow magically fix this isn't paying attention to how markets actually work. If you allowed foreign doctors to come and practice in USA the problem would get fixed extremely quickly. Competition is the solution. The problem isn't the free market here, but that the incumbents gets to control legalization and hence stifle competition. I'm not sure why private money has so much more influence in USA than other western countries, but it is the main source of this problem.

oblio 6y ago
Aren't drugs very expensive in the US, too?
- username90 6y ago
  Isn't it illegal to move drugs across the border? Importing other goods seems much simpler. I mean, according to this you can only import drugs into USA if you are the manufacturer, meaning USA doesn't permit global market forces. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/10-faqs-on-prescription-drug-importation/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20only%20type%20of,U.S.%2Dapproved%20and%20manufactured%20in https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/10-faqs-on-prescrip...
- nogabebop23 6y ago
  drugs are very expensive everywhere it's possible, and implicitly expensive drugs are not available where they're unaffordable (and hence no market at the high price). This leads to bigger group buying programs and a focus on generics, but has the unfortunate effect of shifting the focus of drug companies to very high price, small-market specialty drugs and lifestyle & vanity drugs that a broad, public healthcare system would never cover.
- agensaequivocum 6y ago
  Say you have a drug that you need to charge $100 to make it worth your time. Other countries say they will only pay $20 for it. Since the US doesn't have price controls, they will charge $180 here to make up for missing revenue in other countries. So in effect, the US subsidizes countries with universal healthcare.
  - oblio 6y ago
    Yeah, about that... The US isn't the only country discovering new drugs and there are a lot of other countries with universal healthcare. A more reasonable observer would say that: A) The US has a broken healthcare system B) The US is getting fleeced by drug companies I highly doubt that the US drug companies are selling their drugs at cost, even in countries with universal healthcare.

oblio 6y ago

Aren't drugs very expensive in the US, too?

username90 6y ago
Isn't it illegal to move drugs across the border? Importing other goods seems much simpler. I mean, according to this you can only import drugs into USA if you are the manufacturer, meaning USA doesn't permit global market forces. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/10-faqs-on-prescription-drug-importation/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20only%20type%20of,U.S.%2Dapproved%20and%20manufactured%20in https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/10-faqs-on-prescrip...
nogabebop23 6y ago
drugs are very expensive everywhere it's possible, and implicitly expensive drugs are not available where they're unaffordable (and hence no market at the high price). This leads to bigger group buying programs and a focus on generics, but has the unfortunate effect of shifting the focus of drug companies to very high price, small-market specialty drugs and lifestyle & vanity drugs that a broad, public healthcare system would never cover.
agensaequivocum 6y ago
Say you have a drug that you need to charge $100 to make it worth your time. Other countries say they will only pay $20 for it. Since the US doesn't have price controls, they will charge $180 here to make up for missing revenue in other countries. So in effect, the US subsidizes countries with universal healthcare.
- oblio 6y ago
  Yeah, about that... The US isn't the only country discovering new drugs and there are a lot of other countries with universal healthcare. A more reasonable observer would say that: A) The US has a broken healthcare system B) The US is getting fleeced by drug companies I highly doubt that the US drug companies are selling their drugs at cost, even in countries with universal healthcare.