Drug Pricing Analysis: Prescription Drug Prices for Uninsured Seniors in the U.S. Are Higher than Prices in Canada, Europe, and Japan

Publication

Drug Pricing Analysis: Prescription Drug Prices for Uninsured Seniors in the U.S. Are Higher than Prices in Canada, Europe, and Japan

Abstract

The House Committee on Government Reform examines the financial burden on U.S. seniors due to high prescription drug costs, exacerbated by price discrimination from manufacturers. The report compares prices of five popular brand-name drugs for seniors in the U.S. with prices in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K. Uninsured U.S. seniors pay significantly more, with prices 131% higher than in the U.K., 112% higher than in Canada, and 105% higher than in France for the analyzed drugs. This price disparity results in hundreds of dollars more spent annually by uninsured U.S. seniors for each drug.