U.S. drug prices are rising again, but this isn’t chaos—it’s by design. Americans pay roughly three times what Europeans do because the U.S. market funds global pharmaceutical R&D. Companies hike list prices broadly, cut select Medicare or negotiated-program prices strategically, and rely on opaque discounts behind the scenes. Political pressure nudges the edges, but structural forces—R&D costs, supply chains, and a market built for asymmetric pricing—ensure Americans continue subsidizing the world’s medicine. Expect the pattern to repeat: modest hikes, targeted cuts, and the same predictable system in motion.
The solution? Get as healthy as you can, and stay as such.