The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill

One big problem with the current system for pharmaceutical products is that the drug companies make little to no margnial profit in non-US markets, due to the monopsonistic pressures of a single-payer system driving down prices as low as they can possibly go. This means that pharmaceutical companies have to recoup their fixed costs (R&#38;D) and generate their real profits from the US market. Without the US market, there would be no incentive to actually create the drugs.<p>In essence, Americans are subsidizing the socialized healthcare systems of other countries.

Seeing that US patients pay 20x for Lipitor as New Zealand is a pretty troubling stat. Even though it's clearly optimized for shock value, paying $124/unit can mean a patient is choosing between solvency and health. Pretty sad.

Patients, doctors, and payers: Usually only one of these stakeholders knows what the cost of a treatment is. It's not hard to see how the incentives quickly become perverse, especially when a health system gets involved.<p>I, for one, am hoping that Accountable Care Organizations will prove financially viable.

Reading these articles is always mind boggling as a non American. I just checked what my private health insurance costs me here in NZ: $390 a year. This plan includes 80% rebates for pretty much anything done privately, plus a number of other private elective procedures fully covered and reimbursements on minor stuff like Physio, gp visits etc. if I doubled this I'd get stuff fully covered and likely get optical and dental too.<p>Obviously this is cheap because its just augmenting the public system, but I probably don't pay much more tax than you guys. The difference is just crazy to me.