Why Are Prescription Drugs So Expensive? – Top 3 Reasons

As an American, it’s easy to look at the prices you pay for medication and wonder, why are these prescription drugs so expensive? In the United States, you can almost set your watch to political pundits harping on about the cost of RX medications every 2-4 years. The issue of exorbitant drug prices is so commonly known, and the difficulty of paying for them so commonly experienced, that the subject can literally make or break political aspirations.

But the question remains. Why are these life-enhancing, life-saving medications priced this way? Don’t the drug manufacturers, insurance companies, pharmacies, and yes, politicians know that we need these drugs? If they do, why do Americans pay 2.56 times the price for drugs that can be purchased more affordably in the next 30 developing nations?

Let’s break these outrageous prices down and see if we can find a better alternative.

Reason #1 – Insurance

Americans are required by law to have health insurance, but sadly, insurance companies are left to their own devices in determining nearly everything else about the price consumers pay for prescription drugs. In numerous ways, insurance providers serve as middle-men between the consumer and the pharmaceutical corporations, but they maintain their own best interests while performing this role. 

Because the pharmaceutical manufacturers know that an insurance company may help consumers cover some of the costs of RX drugs, they can raise the price of those drugs without worrying about consumer blowback. But this still leaves the insurance companies on their own to determine how much they’re willing to pay, passing the rest of the cost on to the consumer (you).

As part of a growing trend over the last decade, insurance companies have chronically lowered the prices they cover, driving up the cost to the consumer. What results is less financial assistance for the consumer and more profits for both insurance companies and drug makers. Without the free market to balance out costs, prices will likely continue to rise.

Reason #2 – Location, Location, Location

America is by far the wealthiest country on the face of the Earth. Accordingly, consumers in America can generally afford to pay higher prices for the same drugs that may cost 50% less in another country. Combined with our unique insurance practices, simply purchasing drugs in America can seriously cost you.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers price their medications depending on the market in which they’re sold. From the corporation’s perspective, immovable drug prices based purely on the cost of manufacturing might make those drugs prohibitively expensive in one country but reasonably affordable in another. This limits the consumer base and hurts profits. If, however, that same company charges Americans 2.56 times the cost while undercutting the price in another country, they’ve earned an average profit across the board. 

Technically speaking, your prescription can be fulfilled at any pharmacy on the planet. Companies like The Canadian Drugstore can fill your prescription in another country at a lower price and have that medication shipped to you.

Reason #3 – Government Apathy

In other countries—developing or otherwise—governments have intervened to set ceilings for the price of prescription drugs. Any pharmaceutical manufacturer who wants to sell their medication in these countries must abide by the laws. In America, however, no such price ceiling exists. Drug makers are free to charge whatever they like for their products.

Furthermore, the patent laws of the United States make it easier for drug makers to hold onto proprietary drug formulas for longer periods of time, meaning that more affordable, generic varieties take longer to hit the market and lower the cost of the brand name drug. 

Insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers spend untold millions in lobbying each and every year to influence legislation and maintain this status quo. But thankfully, no laws exist to prevent consumers from having their prescription medications sent from other countries, further justifying and encouraging companies like The Canadian Drugstore to provide those same medications at lower prices.

What You Can Do

Without significant political movement in America, this broken and expensive system is likely to remain. But you’re not powerless. The Canadian Drugstore uses the prescription you receive from your American physician to acquire your medication in another country where the price may be as low as half what you’d be paying otherwise. Those drugs are shipped directly to your door in upwards of a 90-day supply, giving you the drugs you need for cheaper and longer.

To compare the price you normally pay with the price The Canadian Drugstore offers, search for your medications here. Don’t sit back and accept the status quo. Fight it with The Canadian Drugstore.

Pay more or pay less. It’s your choice!

Sure, you could go on paying the same, exorbitant prices for your life-saving medications. But why enrich the insurance companies, the drug makers, and the politicians when you can enrich yourself instead? Search for the medicine you need here, compare our price to what you’ve been paying, and place your first order today. Prescription medications by mail are not only perfectly legal, they’re also perfectly affordable.