Robert ReichSep 28, 2023

Biden announced the first 10 prescription drugs subject to price negotiations with Medicare.

It’s estimated to cut prices for certain drugs by half — leading to savings for seniors.

Big Pharma has of course sued.

If you wanted a sign that this is good policy, look no further.

Show threadJL
@rbreich According to a 2021 study by the RAND Corporation, a non-profit global policy think tank, prices of prescription drugs in the U.S. are 2.4 times higher than the average prices of nine other nations (Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom😭 😩
Sep 28, 2023 at 10:55pmWeb
Show threadKingsley Bugarin PLY OAM 🇦🇺Sep 29, 2023

@JLH_JAN2022 @rbreich

One of the medications my wife takes, Humira, is USD7,299/month full cash price in the US.

In Australia, the full cash price without medicare subsidy is USD588.8/month.

With the medicare subsidy it is USD19.2.

The solution is for the US government to nationalise the pharmaceutical companies.

But, the pharma companies own most of the politicians.

Show threadRaymond RussellNov 23, 2023
@kingsleybugarin @JLH_JAN2022 @rbreich
Thats a lot of cash.
According to NHS England the patent expired in Oct 2018 and there are now biosimilars available which pushed the cost down. This is an article from (2018) when the drug was coming out of patent and the plans to switch patients over to new versions.
I did see in an update that there are currently 5 biosimilar versions now in use by the NHS.
The medication is given in hospital in the UK, there is no patient charge
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2018/10/nhs-set-to-save-150-million-by-switching-to-new-versions-of-most-costly-drug/
NHS England » NHS set to save £150 million by switching to new versions of most costly drug

Show threadKingsley Bugarin PLY OAM 🇦🇺Nov 24, 2023

@raymierussell @JLH_JAN2022 @rbreich

My wife is now taking one of the biosimilars but while it is significantly cheaper than Humira it is still over USD3000/month in the US.