According to reports, US citizens spent around $ 1,200 per capita on prescription medications in the year 2015. This is so far the highest rate in all over the world. For Example, if a 30-day prescription to a medicine costs $125 in the UK and $100 in Switzerland, in the US the same medicine will costs around $290.



THERE ARE FOUR MAJOR REASONS WHY PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ARE SO HIGH IN THE US:



1. Limited Governmental Regulation:



In other countries, governments regulate the cost on medicines; however, the US does not have such rules. This enables the pharmaceutical companies to set medicine prices as per their wish. This causes high prices, particularly for unique drugs.



2. No Single-Player Negotiation:



In other counties, with single-payer negotiation, the government pays for most health care costs, thus they have strong negotiating power to lower prices. Such this is not possible in the US as a mix of smaller government programs and private insurers negotiate the prices with the manufacturers.



3. The Rapid Increase in Prices:



Along with deciding the prices for new drugs, pharmaceutical companies also increase the prices of existing drugs. As per the AARP, prices of a sample of 268 brand-name drugs increased by 15.5% in 2015. There can be striking increase in price for older brand-name drugs as well as generic drugs.



4. Limited Research Comparing Drugs:



Another reason for the high drugs prices as per a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association is lack of research across drugs. Although most doctors understand that their patients want to avoid high drug prices, their main aim is to treat the patients effectively. There is little research that compares brand-name drugs against each other due to which the prescribers may be hesitant to prescribe a drug that is cheaper.



Even if the drugs are so expensive there are ways to save good amount of money by buying medicines online. There are various online pharmacies that offer heavy discounts on prescription drugs online. Hence, one of the best ways to buy prescription drugs at affordable prices is to buy medicines online.

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