Americans spend more on prescription drugs than other wealthy countries
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As Americans grapple with the rising cost of medicines, a new analysis shows that the U.S. had the highest spending per capita among nearly a dozen other high-income countries. Specifically,
U.S. spending per capita on pharmaceuticals was $1,443, despite the fact that generics represented 84 percent of the U.S. market, the largest tally among the 11 countries that were
examined. The mean spending per capita was $749, according to the analysis, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Retail spending per capita was also
highest in the U.S., at $1,026. The data were released as part of a broader look at health care spending in the U.S. and other wealthy nations. And the results were sobering: The U.S. spent
approximately twice as much as the 11 other high-income countries on medical care, yet utilization rates in the U.S. were largely similar to those in other nations. STAT+ Exclusive Story
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