U.S. Prescription Drugs 3Xs More Expensive than Other Developed Nations, New Study Finds

Researchers compared prescription drug prices in the U.S. and 33 other countries, and the results show U.S. costs are significantly higher, especially when it comes to brand-name medications.

Prescription drugs in the U.S. are nearly 3 times more expensive than in other developed nations, a new study finds.

The price gap is even greater when looking at brand-name drugs alone… which cost about 4 times more in the U.S., according to researchers.

Their study compared manufacturers’ gross drug prices from 2022 in the U.S. and 33 other countries.

While overall and brand-name prices were significantly higher in the U.S., the news wasn’t all bad for Americans.

The lead author says, "We find that the gap is widening for name-brand drugs, while U.S. prices for generic drugs are now proportionally lower than our earlier analysis found."

Generic drugs were about 33% less expensive in the U.S. on average.

But the researchers point out generics only account for 8% of total drug spending in the U.S. versus 87% for more expensive brand-name products.

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