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Originally Posted by White Rabbit
Interestingly enough, I believe Medicare is legally prohibited from engaging in national-scale negotiations with pharmaceutical companies for annual purchase contracts (volume discount purchases).
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Correct. There are pending bills in both the house and senate to remedy that circumstance, but Republicans have said they would filibuster any such attempt on the moronic grounds that no cost savings would be available. The truth of the matter is a needed correction would put Medicare prescription drugs on a competitive level with private health care plans and that's not what current administration nor big pharmo or the health insurance industry lobbyists wanted when it forced the Medicare prescription drugs plan. Again, the sheer numbers of Babyboomers and that cost will force what's currently a backroom deal into the public view and the largest voting block in the US always wins.
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This is how the Canadian healthcare system drives down the price of pharmaceuticals. In the vast majority of cases, these are the identical brand name products available in Canada at a significantly lower price than they are sold in the USA for.
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In 2002, Americans paid 67 percent more than Canadians did for identical patented drug products. Mexico has the same low cost and that's spawned an industry in border towns of busing seniors across the border to have their
prescriptions filled. Rather pathetic but effective.