Why drugs cost more in the US than other countries — Elon Musk

Tesla CEO and owner of X, Elon Musk, has explained the reason drugs cost more in the US than in other countries, saying Americans pay for the research and development costs of drugs which is why the drugs are more expensive in the US compared to other countries.

The cost and quality of the US healthcare system have been one of the most prominent issues facing everyday Americans.

The recent release of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 2024 Health Statistics, a comprehensive source of comparable statistics on healthcare systems across OECD member countries, provides policymakers and the public with some insight into how America’s healthcare system compares to others.

There are many possible factors for why healthcare prices in the United States are higher than in other countries, ranging from the consolidation of hospitals — leading to a lack of competition to the inefficiencies and administrative waste that derive from the complexity of the US healthcare system.

In 2022, the United States spent an estimated $12,742 per person on healthcare, the highest healthcare costs per capita across similar countries.

The United States spends over $1,000 per person on administrative costs, almost five times more than the average of other wealthy countries and more than it spends on long-term healthcare.

Musk wrote on his X handle, “A significant part of the reason drugs cost more in the USA than other countries is that Americans shoulder most of the R&D costs.”

He was reacting to his co-chair, Ramaswamy’s statement on X, “Many health technologies wouldn’t be developed in the first place unless the U.S. reimburses attractively for them. But other nations then free-ride on us, by simply accessing those therapies at a *much* lower cost AFTER they’re approved for us. Countries like Germany, etc, need to start sharing the burden, or else they shouldn’t get access to the technologies. Can’t have it both ways.”

It would be recalled Musk alongside tech entrepreneur, Vivek Ramaswamy were appointed by President-elect, Donald Trump to lead the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Both Musk and Ramaswamy, on Wednesday, said that their brand-new government efficiency panel will identify “thousands” of regulations for President-elect Trump to eliminate, which they argue will justify “mass head-count reductions” across government.

The pair also laid out their plans for DOGE in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Musk and Ramaswamy pointed to several recent Supreme Court decisions that have targeted the power of the administrative state, arguing that a “plethora of current federal regulations” exceed agency authority and could be cancelled.

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