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by athenot 2649 days ago
Making healthcare more expensive doesn't make it better.

As an example, the price of Clopidogrel (Plavix), developped in France is sold 5x more expensive in the US than in France. Do patients in the US experience better outcomes by paying more? No, it's the same drug.

"Providing more" for healthcare, means better overall health, fewer avoidable deaths and longer life expectancy.
1 comments
jjeaff 2649 days ago
Presumably, the makers of Plavix had an estimate of what they could sell the drug for in the US. It's possible it would not have been a viable investment if they weren't able to sell it for 5x in the US. This never bringing it to market.
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athenot 2646 days ago
No because in order to be reimbursed by the French insurance, they must argue their development costs in order to make their case for pricing at which the government will reimburse the drug. Otherwise it is not covered by insurance (which is rare).

So anything sold oversees is pure profit (minus marketing / lobbying).

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