Gleevec

Millions of Americans buy medication online from abroad due to the increasingly high price of prescription medication available locally. What causes the high price of medications in the US? Why do Americans pay so much more for drugs than countries like Canada and Israel? Countries that are in the same 1st World bracket.

Socialized national healthcare systems all over the world do something that America doesn't. They negotiate large scale purchases with drug companies. Buying bulk means power to negotiate prices and save money. The savings ultimately filter down to consumer and patient level, making prescription medications more affordable.

Why doesn't Medicare do the same thing? First up, you need to remember that the world of healthcare and drugs is a business, like any other business. At each point in the chain of manufacturing and purchasing a small profit margin is added. It sees that to achieve affordable drug prices for patients, someone, somewhere along the chain of purchase has to suffer. Either the drug companies, Medicare, employers or the government.