It's not an excuse for the pharma corps, nor is it a justification for the way things are (don't forget, living in China for so many years spoiled me on cheap out-of-pocket medical care), but one major reason why pharmaceuticals are so expensive here is due to the fact that it is US corporations doing the vast majority of the R&D.
Those places with socialized medicine can afford it because the US subsidizes so much of their society (think military defense, footing the costs for R&D, etc.) They are able to offer their citizens inexpensive generic versions of drugs while we pay the full price.
Add to that the lobbying that goes in in DC, the completely broken nature of our health insurance system, and the general apathy of Americans towards demanding proper reform (as opposed to demanding Daddy Govt. take care of them). That's all compounded by the spoiled, self-interested Generation X and Millennial Generation (of which I'm a part) who think it's the responsibility of others to take care of everything for them and you have a recipe for a completely dysfunctional system. |
