Statistics of Common Pharmaceuticals Around the World 

In the United States, drug companies are are able to set their own prices for prescriptions however, there is a difference between list price and discount price. American pharmaceutical companies sell their drugs to buyers of medicine, these buyers include parties such as Medicare, private insurers, and benefit managers. Benefit managers are third party buyers that buy for commercial health plans. The cost that is sold to buyers is never made public, meaning that consumers only see the list prices and then the discounted price (the price consumers buy drugs at) and never the price between pharmaceutical companies and buyers. Below are graphs that compare the monthly cost of common prescriptions in the U.S. and around the world. The graphs also include the U.S. list price and the discount price to help viewers understand the idea of a buyer.

By looking at the graph, It is clear that the U.S. list price is much more expensive than the other countries however, the discount price, which is the price that consumers pay is not that outrageous in comparison to the other places. The Hepatitis C Pill is even more expensive in Saudi Arabia than the U.S., and the other countries are also around the price of 17,000 USD. There is an exception with the Chronic Myeloid drug, a leukemia treatment where absolutely no discount price is offered making the purchase price approximately 10,000 USD. The problem with this information is that the price between the buyer and drug companies is disclosed making it hard to tell how much of a profit the third parties are making, they could be buying drugs in bulk for very cheap and raising prices to make excess money in order to sustain business (Langreth, Bloomsburg). 

Why it is Unfair to Blame Pharmaceuticals as the Sole Cost Driver in HealthCare 

Prescription drugs in the United States account for only 12-14% of health care spending. Therefore, it is incorrect to assume that the costliness is due exclusively to medications. Over the last few years the rise in chronic care has skyrocketed. More patients are in need of more drugs and for a longer period of time. In the United States, approximately 45% of the population has a chronic condition, and 1/4 people have multiple chronic conditions. Specifically in Rhode Island, over half a million citizens suffer from one or more chronic conditions. Being the most common and most expensive conditions, diabetes and high blood pressure account for 2,730 Billion USD of spending annually. The chronic care population also uses much more expensive healthcare assistance than the ordinary population. For example, people with a chronic condition are 7.5 times more likely to be admitted into the hospital. Some high spending conditions include congestive heart failure which brings in about 3,111 inpatient hospital admissions annually and peripheral vascular disease with 2,871 annual inpatient hospital admissions. Chronic care patients need more costly services and certainly should be provided with them however, it is important to recognize that chronic care is a significant contributor to the rising prices of drugs and the healthcare system as a whole (Rhode Island Department of Health).  

Pharmaceutical Companies and the Economy 

Pharmaceutical Companies in Rhode Island provide approximately 17,330 people with employment. The productivity of a biopharmaceutical employee is said to be 1 million USD compared to 161,433 USD per employee across all Rhode Island jobs. Biopharmaceutical employees are also compensated more with an average of 145,623 USD per employee compared to 57,916 USD employee across all Rhode Island jobs. The Revenue generated for the state is a substantial 288.6 million USD. These drug companies are big operations that require many workers and a lot of money. Workers must be compensated and money must be allocated to new research and production, these factors contribute to the rising cost of pharmaceuticals. Below are graphs to put into perspective these statistics (PhRMA). 

Conclusion of Statistics 

Many statistics that show the price differentiation between the U.S. and other countries are biased because of the omission of the discount price on the drugs (the price that the consumers pay). The statistics tend to be skewed because of the outrageous list price of name brand drugs. The statistics fail to mention that many generic brands are discounted about 80% brining the price within normal range of other countries. It is important to understand that though  pharmaceuticals are pricey, they are not the lone contributor to an expensive healthcare system neither are they out of proportion with other countries (PhRMA).