[pixodaros]

AFAIK, Medicare in the USA is forbidden by law from using its big market to drive a hard bargain like most national health services can (Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003). So its like employers paying workers less in jurisdictions where they can't unionize and strike.

[0xDEAFBEAD]

That actually changed recently, but The Economist (UK newspaper) whines that Americans will no longer be footing the bill for drug development:

https://archive.is/bWwP4

We're done with Europeans treating us as suckers. Doing nice things for Europe leads to nothing but contempt from Europeans.

[hermanzegerman]

They correctly point out that useless parasites like the Pharmacy Benefit Managers that I also mentioned to you, are a quite big part of your drug price problem. Yet you seem to refuse to acknowledge it

The system is packed with opaque middlemen such as pharmacy benefit managers, many of which are making big rents

[0xDEAFBEAD]

Certainly the US healthcare system needs reform. But I believe a big reason why we have paid such high drug prices for so long is because congresspeople in the US believed that it was good for us to subsidize drug innovation for the entire world. That era is over. Like I said, you Europeans had a good thing going, but you just couldn't let well enough alone.

[hermanzegerman]

If you really believe that Congressmen in the US thought they were subsidizing foreign nations while their own citizens suffer out of their goodness of their hearts, and not because some Lobbyists donated huge sums to their campaigns and "convinced" them in some meetings, Boy I do have a Bridge to sell you.

American Politicians are really famous worldwide for being selfless, defending other nations interests to the detriment of their own nation

Especially the Republican ones, which have blocked and still trying to block all efforts to bring drug prices down by negotiation.

They are known for being very caring people. Especially for the poor and disadvantaged

[0xDEAFBEAD]

The lobbyists probably said something like "it is good for drug companies to make profits so they can innovate new drugs for global benefit".

Same way the defense companies probably said something like "it is good to deter Russia so that Europe can remain free and democratic".

Hilarious, isn't it?

Anyways shouldn't you get back to work so you can afford all the new weapons you're going to have to buy?

"American Politicians are really famous worldwide for being selfless, defending other nations interests to the detriment of their own nation." Well yes, we did that for you guys for 80 years after WW2, a very peaceful and prosperous period for Europe by historical standards. We got nothing but hate and laughter for it. Now we're done.

[hermanzegerman]

* Well yes, we did that for you guys for 80 years after WW2, a very peaceful and prosperous period for Europe by historical standards. We got nothing but hate and laughter for it We got nothing but hate and laughter for it*

You're either very stupid believing that the American Engagement in Europe was just charity or just a very good troll.

I guess Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran (pre-Mullahs) and other countries that were gifted with democracy were also other selfless endeavours by the Americans.

[Ylpertnodi]

> Well yes, we did that for you guys for 80 years after WW2, a very peaceful and prosperous period for Europe by historical standards. We got nothing but hate and laughter for it We got nothing but hate and laughter for it.

Have you thanked the French for getting involved in US wars?

And when you say "we", does that include yourself?

[pixodaros]

No, that article has one paragraph which frets that if Medicare drives down drug prices in the USA, pharma companies might cut R&D spending, and might get less new drugs (note the conditional and hypothetical). A colleague in biomedical research says that its just a common misconception that R&D costs drive drug prices eg. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-071710