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  • Page 1 — Trump wants to ask German patients to checkout. Excuse me?
  • Page 2 — Medicare cannot negotiate a volume discount
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    It is a explosive price difference – and US president Donald Trump wants to change it: drugs are more expensive in US than in all or developed countries. Every U.S. citizen pays an average of more than 1,000 dollars per year for medicines. For comparison: Germans pay just under 700 dollars per capita, Sweden not even 400 dollars, such an analysis of Commonwealth Fund, a US foundation to improve health care. The American Pharmalobby also has a justification for differences: because of price controls abroad, corporations are forced to recoup high costs of research and development on US market again. Europeans and or rich regions refore benefited from innovation without paying for it.

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    The high prices are directly noticeable for many American patients. If you are insured, you still have to pay a large part of your own pocket by means of insurers ‘ payments and performance restrictions. Many Americans cannot afford this, 28 million Americans are still without health insurance. For years now, increasing pharmaceuticals have been hotly debated in politics as well.

    Foreigners should be asked to checkout

    The US president had already promised remedy in election campaign. Now Trump becomes more concrete. When it comes to him, Germans will soon pay more for ir medicines to solve problem in US. Instead of demanding concessions from pharmaceutical companies that are important campaign donors, Trump would prefer to ask foreigners to checkout. Patients in countries like Germany should finally pay ir “fair share”, president recently called in a speech. “It’s time to finish global Riding board once and for all,” he said, announcing toughest action a president has taken against industry’s interests.

    Trump wants to make its pharma price claim part of negotiations on trade agreements and customs duties. His government is currently negotiating with Mexico and Canada to make North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) more advantageous for United States. The EU is currently trying to make an exception in case of steel and aluminium punitive tariffs for European companies in Washington. Now Trump wants to make pharmaceuticals part of deal.

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    US Health Minister Alex Azar, previously manager of a daughter of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, demands that US trading partners pay more because y “use socialist price controls and market barriers to get unfair prices.” However, Azar explained why higher prices abroad should persuade companies to demand less in US. As a private company you are interested in maximizing profits for your owners, why should you voluntarily lower prices? If Trump is to prevail with his plan, companies will be able to enforce higher margins outside United States as well.

    Medications cost a multiple in US

    The problem in itself Trump has quite rightly recognized. No one disputes that pharmaceutical companies in US demand more for ir products. A comparison of Bloomberg data service of six commonly prescribed medications shows that price of medicines in US is sometimes many times higher than in or developed countries.

    Humira, for example, a medium of AbbVie group, which is used among or things in rheumatoid arthritis, according to Bloomberg at time of investigation 2015 in USA cost around 2,500 dollars a month – including usual discounts for large-scale customers. In Germany it was 1,750 dollars. The Financial Times encountered even more significant differences. Thus, AstraZeneca in Europe requires around 21 dollars for 60 tablets of pain by means of Vimovo. The licensee Horizon Pharma requires 2,979 dollars for same pack in United States.