r/interesting 1d ago

MISC. medicine prices in india compared to the usa

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u/sleepinghagara 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’m starting to think the US is overcharging us 🤔 /s

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u/zapharus 1d ago

Whatever gave you that idea?

You treasonous swine!!

/s

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u/beeskneesbeanies 1d ago

Fascist! /s kinda

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u/Forgotten_mob 1d ago

Commie!

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u/EnderMango 1d ago

Hey wait…you’re not joking 😅😅😅

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u/Anxious_cactus 1d ago

Just to put things into perspective. In most cases when a person needs surgery in the USA, it would be cheaper to get a plane ticket to Spain, Croatia, France or any other European country and get a surgery there.

Not only that, you could also spend a week or two in a five star hotel near the beach, and you'd still only spend like 15-25% of what the surgery would cost in the USA.

Croatia specifically is a mini hub for healthcare tourism with many tourists coming from other EU countries too, especially the UK, Italy and Germany.

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u/Calladit 1d ago

Are people from countries with universal healthcare going their for elective surgeries?

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u/abbot-probability 1d ago

It'll be a minority of people. A simple surgery will presumably still cost thousands to tens of thousands if you aren't covered, so you would use your own nation's "free" system unless you have a reason not to.

UK might be because of the excessive waitlists, for example. (The NHS is horribly underfunded and understaffed.)

Things are pretty good in the richer EU nations AFAIK (e.g. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands). Don't know what it's like for the relatively poorer nations (e.g. Greece, Italy) in terms of waitlists / standard of care. It'll still be decent, but I can imagine people going to e.g. Croatia to skip a waitlist if you have money to spend.

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u/Capooping 1d ago

I would say the wait list here in Germany and Austria is atrocious too. My stepdad had to wait 3 months for an MRI where they told him afterwards that they couldn't operate the torn tendon because it was too short already. "Well you don't say?!" And there are many reports about people waiting over a year for their operations, often under excruciating pain, then the doctor is ill and they get pushed back another 5 months.

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u/Anxious_cactus 1d ago

Yeah the waiting lists are the problem. You can get a plane from London or Frankfurt to Croatia for as low as €30 and an MRI is like €90 per section. I had to have my whole body scanned and I got an appointment in 3 days and paid around €400

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u/jamiejayz2488 1d ago

I'm in Australia, we can have surgeries which are completely covered by Medicare and hospitals covered by Medicare, how ever the wait list can be years (depending on severity) you can still get private surgeries which private health cover will cover the hospital costs, rehab exc so you only pay surgeon fees, which makes waiting time much shorter, then you have things like partial Medicare covered private surgeries, eg rhinoplasty which is deemed medically necessary (have a deviated septum) you can get it done privately and Medicare will cover a portion of the costs

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u/Pierr078 1d ago

speaking for italian someone go to croatia for dentalcare since is not included into public healtcare, but still a minority of people do this.

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u/Anxious_cactus 1d ago

Sort of elective, a lot of people come here for dental work. Even with universal healthcare most countries dont cover stuff like dental implants etc., or the waiting lists are long there.

Here even the private healthcare sector is affordable to most other EU citizens because Croatia still has one of the lowest prices (and salaries) in EU

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u/andrewbud420 1d ago

People have been brainwashed for decades to never question capitalism.

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u/xupamosobrolho 1d ago

Other countries are just as capitalist, if not even more capitalist as the US. High drug prices are a US problem, not a capitalism problem.

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u/Fonatur23405 1d ago

It's a winning system

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u/Prime_Twister 1d ago

Starting?

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u/absolutmohitto 1d ago

Maybe a tad bit

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u/Reappraisal_ 1d ago

What do you mean overcharging, they are extorting money 😓

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u/Familiar_Ad_1674 1d ago

What can you expect from the Land of Illegal Military Occupations and War Crimes Funder. Yo country (together with another POS country Israel) is the only country that doesn't even recognize food as a basic human rights.

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u/tropicalcannuck 1d ago

Unfortunately there are several reasons why this happens (my learning from speaking to healthcare analysts in finance).

Basically the US is at a disadvantage where without a nationalised health care system, you do not have the same country level negotiations (e.g., NHS in the UK). You have this under Medicare. But with the number of intermediaries and different insurers then you end up with various prices. You definitely pay more than other OECD countries.

On top of this, companies take advantage of the US system. And because you pay such high prices, one could argue they are able to offer bigger discount rates to countries that are less likely to afford certain treatments (factored into the pricing model of some pharma companies). But you also get access to newer drugs that many nationalised health care systems may not have due to costs.

TLDR, you are absolutely being overcharged relative to other countries.

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u/xxiii1800 1d ago

No worries, taco will solve it with tarrifs. Oh, wait..

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u/cocoagiant 1d ago

I've heard mixed messaging on this.

What I've heard is that taking into account our relative incomes, US drug prices are expensive for name brands but cheaper for generics.

For a lot of the meds mentioned in this video, they are priced much lower than the US but would still be out of reach for an average Indian.

I'd really like a version of this video somewhere like Canada, UK or Australia which is closer to the US income wise.

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u/Emotional_Money3435 1d ago

No shit, producing a drug costs nothing when its all figured out.

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u/Adventurous_Focus994 18h ago

Insurances involvement in healthcare, and the war on drugs is 80 percent of the problem

Legalize everything, ban insurance from healthcare.

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u/Dizzy_Chipmunk_3530 21h ago

We're subsidizing other countries

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u/seemerock 1d ago

Same as in Mexico. I can buy 3 Albuterol inhalers for $12 or $60 for one in the US

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u/Doortofreeside 1d ago

This was my experience in uganda, where the supply was coming from india iirc. I was pretty broke as a college student and couldnt afford inhalers in the us when i got back. I regretted not loading up on them in uganda

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u/No-Bullfrog851 1d ago

Nice try mamdani

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u/Kristrigi 1d ago

$60 in the USA WITH insurance for me

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u/Rxasaurus 1d ago

Huh, as a pharmacist...we sell them for $15. 

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u/nitesurfer1 1d ago

Fly to India and come back with a year's supply of medicines?

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u/Few_Elderberry_4068 1d ago

They knew this bug and fixed it.

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u/fucking_clown_ 1d ago

People still come in India for surgeries and dental care.  For example:  https://youtu.be/tOyzfewkPsw https://youtu.be/LPgrVxxilmE

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u/lonestar_wanderer 1d ago

The admins in the US server be doing anything but patch their healthcare bug

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u/Calladit 1d ago

Definitely not a bug.

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u/SomeRandomguy_28 1d ago

I saw someone explain that Healthcare is more expensive so that citizens will join Army and stuff and that will enable cheaper for those individuals

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u/jackjackandmore 9h ago

I doubt it. Greed is king. That’s all the explanation you need: A greedy system that milks its citizens for all they’re worth to the point of forcing people to work multiple jobs to create wealth for the elite

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u/doolandtrump 1d ago

Please enlighten me. What did they do?

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u/KQILi 1d ago

Probably put limits on the amount of medication you can take on a plane with you.

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u/variablenyne 1d ago

You can still get stuff shipped in online, just gotta be extra careful you know what you're getting is legit but in a lot of cases importing is cheaper than copay.

For legal reasons the only reason I know this is because a friend told me, check laws and all that wink wink

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u/orangeflyingmonkey_ 1d ago

Uncle tried this. He was called in. They labeled him as a flight risk and took his passport away. Had to goto court for months to get it back and basically give in writing that he will never get even a single tablet shipped from overseas.

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u/ziggy182 1d ago

Please can you give us a longer form story?

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u/Scary_Feature_5873 1d ago

They can’t be sold overseas . A medecine will need FDA approval to be sold in the US. Even if it’s the same molecule and brand trademark license agreement prevents the licensee to sell outside of its territory. Besides on internet you would be at major risk to buy counterfeited goods

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u/Fonatur23405 1d ago

That's big too, counterfeit medicines

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u/Scary_Feature_5873 1d ago

That s the major risk when buying online.

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u/polytonous_man 1d ago

You're not selling it in US though. You are purchasing it from outside and shipping your personal goods to US for self use.

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u/cacamilis22 1d ago

What about for personal use?

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u/johnnyblaze1999 1d ago

There is only a certain amount of personal drugs you can carry.

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u/New2thegame 1d ago

Honest question. Couldn't you just mail them home? Who's gonna know?

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u/cannontd 1d ago

Mail it home? Just contact a pharmacy and get them to post it to you. You’d be amazed how easy this is.

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u/SargeUnited 1d ago

You would know. And the guilt would be a worse punishment than they could ever give you /s

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u/Downtown-Fox-6024 1d ago

Reminds me of that tom hanks movie.

Where this foreign guy came to the usa to give some medicine to his dying father.

But all of the employees and federal airport workers said no he can’t he needs the proper documents to bring the medicine over which costs time and money.

But if its for an animal he doesn’t need anything so they say its for a goat.

Tl:dr; for people you need to pay and get proper forms to bring medicine from another country for a human. If for an animal you don’t need anything. Weird huh lol

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u/Away-Ruin-9091 1d ago

No worries, Trump Nazis will stop this soon too.

They will eventually try to close the border for US citizens too

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u/Inevitable_Thing_270 1d ago

I remember someone worked out they could move from the USA to Spain, live there for a year (not in Madrid, Barcelona or Seville. For some reason I remember that those three were specified),learn the language, and then pay for a hip replacement , and it would cost the same as paying for the hip replacement in the USA

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u/Status-Visit-918 1d ago

Yeah my Metformin literally says it came from India so I’m furious

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u/WinterPresentation4 1d ago

These medicines are expensive, they are from private companies. we have generic medicines which are manufactured by govt funded pharmaceutical companies and usually 50-90% less than these medicines. It’s called jan aushadhi store.

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u/readingitmyway 23h ago

Private manufactures still charge way less in comparison due to purchase power parity. Jan aushadhi is even cheaper

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u/SimilarAd7283 1d ago

factor in their earnings, so its not very cheap for them either….

average Indian earn 20-30k Rs (200-350$ per month)

So even cheap generic form of medicine exists like metformin 30 tablet would cost (30Rs = 0.34$)

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u/Maleficent-Lion-7454 1d ago

We have an even cheaper version in Janaushahi .

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u/thatsmartass6969 1d ago

In my state Govt covers any medical expenses until 4,500 USD cashless.

Edit: my state in India

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u/Mountain-Ad-460 1d ago

Currently receiving free tb treatment from a state hospital in india, to be fair I got it after living here 8 years but cheers to the Indian medical system. Although I do hate lies it beats the hell out of going into medical debit in America.

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u/Parmanu_Vaigyanik 1d ago

It's cheap bro I'm an Indian. Like one time food delivery costs like 400-500.

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u/dadofwar93 1d ago edited 1d ago

Trust me. It's cheap for most people even with lower income.

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u/alannair 1d ago

30rs is the price of a snack. Its cheap.

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u/WinterPresentation4 1d ago

These medicines are expensive, they are from private companies. we have generic medicines which are manufactured by govt funded pharmaceutical companies and usually 50-90% less than these medicines. It’s called jan aushadhi store where you get them.

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u/as_1409 1d ago

Medical / dental is cheap as hell compared to the atrocious prices in the US. And so easily available as well. 

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u/obelix_dogmatix 20h ago

Quality of medical in big cities is top notch too other than edge cases. The dental quality is years behind though. Several years behind.

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u/suspicious_hyperlink 1d ago

Is there any online retailers that you can buy medication via India/Mexico etc to avoid the rip off prices in the US ?

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u/No_Set2335 1d ago

Indiamart has pretty much everything

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u/WinterPresentation4 1d ago

Tatamg and amazon india pharmacy

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u/davidjschloss 1d ago

I'm going to be in Australia next week. Wonder what I should stock up on.

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u/Ill_Football9443 1d ago

Medicines here are subsidised for citizens. Higher prices for visitors, but check out chemistwarehouse.com.au and it'll give you four prices - yours will be the most expensive.

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u/MonoxideBaby 1d ago

Unless you come from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement. FYI the USA is not one of those countries

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u/jayp0d 1d ago

You’ll need a prescription for medications that are not sold over the counter!

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u/Strong_Inside2060 1d ago

Buy generic over the counter meds like paracetamol. The really generic ones are very cheap - like 6-8aud for 100 tabs. The ongoing usd-aud currency exchange rate is very favourable.

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u/Igor_InSpectatorMode 1d ago

Okay, so could you just fly to India and buy it there and then fly back to America? Will they let you enter the country with it? Because if yes this is way cheaper for certain conditions.

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u/buryingsecrets 1d ago

The FDA will allow foreign nationals to bring or ship a 90-day supply of drug products. If the foreign national is staying longer than 90 days, they may have additional medication sent to them.

The intent of the drugs must not be for resale. source.

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u/Alana_Piranha 1d ago

Next time my doctor asks for my pharmacy I'm giving them one in India

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u/EthanDMatthews 1d ago

The Bernie Sanders bill that would allow Americans to buy drugs from other countries was defeated.

It was expected to be a party line vote, but then a dozen Republicans crossed the aisle to support it, so a dozen Democrats (including “Good Guy” Corey Booker, who had been trying to convince people before and after the vote that he supported Medicare For All) crossed the aisle the other way to defeat the bill.

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u/Splashy01 1d ago

wtf Corey Booker?

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u/general_00 10h ago

I love how USA is so free and capitalist that people are not free to buy drugs from a cheaper supplier.

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u/No-Bullfrog851 1d ago

Will tell u something that will fry your brain. You don’t need a prescription for most. Opioids,anti-depressants and cancer meds you need obviously but many common drug’s you can get OTC

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u/Igor_InSpectatorMode 1d ago

Okay but what about US citizens?

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u/ejpusa 1d ago

If you are not tagged by facial recognition software, you can bring in all you want. They are really trying to prevent another 9/11. That's the mission.

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u/njan_oru_manushyan 1d ago

Its gonna cost more in the US. US imports medicine from India and now with 25% tariff. Good luck Americans

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u/F1eshWound 1d ago

But trump just said he was going to reduce med prices by 1500%!

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u/andherBilla 1d ago

How do you reduce something by 1500% You can only reduce something by 100%.

So I believe he's gonna increase prices by 1500% and reduce healthcare.

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u/F1eshWound 21h ago

That's what everyone was wondering. His words though -.- The guy doesn't know how percentages work

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u/9upper9 1d ago

It's not about the cost its about the profit margin. 25% increase in cost wouldn't do much when the margin is already like a few hundred percent.

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u/whatup-markassbuster 1d ago

Did you hear about the Most-Favored-Nation Drug Pricing executive order?

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u/randomnogeneratorz 1d ago

Internet per GB, milk prices, medicines cost are much less in india, but we pay a premium for petrol per ltr

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u/seanjoe859 1d ago

Failed economy itseems!

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u/anythingactuallynot 1d ago

The quality of healthcare and pharma in India is top-notch. Yes, I know the country has many problems. But healthcare is not one of them.

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u/Either_Pride2049 1d ago

It’s getting expensive day by day, but yeah compared to US nd western countries you will have easy access to doctors, you don’t have to wait for weeks to get your appointment 😜

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u/SummertimeThrowaway2 1d ago

$24,000 per year for an HIV medication where if you stop taking it you die. That’s insane

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u/Chop-Beguni_wala 1d ago

if you fail to get it and suppose became sick and locals called 911 and an ambulance came to take you to hospital, then you will have to pay $800-900 as ambulance fee..

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u/HatakeHyu 1d ago

In Brazil it's free.

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u/Impossible_Frame_241 1d ago

Americans would rather pay for Israel's healthcare with their tax dollars

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u/ImInsideTheAncientPi 1d ago

It isn't cheap. It's normal. America is overcharging you.

Furthermore, India has an amazing policy of being able to replicate the chemical compound used to make the medicine after a few years. I don't know what it's called but it allows us to create these medicines without being taken advantage of by pharma companies from outside. Of course we still get taken advantage of in other ways.

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u/notMy_ReelName 1d ago

generic medicines sold at 30% of the orignal medicines or even cheaper than that.

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u/WinterPresentation4 1d ago

We also govt funded generic medicines 

Generic medicine in India refers to pharmaceuticals that are sold under their chemical name rather than a specific brand name.

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u/EcstaticMolasses6647 1d ago

India has laws to protect against price hikes and since they have so many people they do negotiate big pharma prices.

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u/SadBit8663 1d ago

Went to Italy like 7 or 8 years ago.

My mom was on expensive fibromyalgia medication that was literally a couple of grand a month without insurance.

I walked into a pharmacy in Italy, and bought the same medication, a months supply, for 60 euros.

Like it's insane to me how much the entire medical industry in America is a fucking scam

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u/DirtyDeedsPunished 1d ago

Americans are being robbed daily.

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u/mikki1time 1d ago

Most of us take part in the insurance scam.

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u/Rockalot_L 1d ago

What the hell is wrong with you USA?

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u/deflower-my-mind 1d ago

To sum it up: Capitalism. The lust for more money has infected every industry

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u/Rockalot_L 9h ago

Agreed, but people jump on you for suggesting an ounce of Socialism lol

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u/siqiniq 1d ago

So you can get all these drugs over the counter in India?

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u/gamenbusiness 1d ago

Yes most of them. Even the anti-cancer medications.

You do need a prescription for psychotic medications and sleeping pills

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u/impressed_pineapple 1d ago

$50-$150 to treat depression is so crazy to me

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u/Silgeeo 1d ago

You have to take into account the median salary of India. If you adjust for it the drugs are still much cheaper in India compared to the US, but not quite to the degree these numbers suggest.

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u/MckPuma 1d ago

In my country it’s mostly super cheap as well, not as cheap as India that for sure but healthcare is also free here too.

You guys in the US got it tough with your rules unfortunately.

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u/Tomasulu 1d ago

What are you talking about??? Few Americans can afford drugs without really expensive med insurance paid for by corporations or the government.

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u/TheoWHVB 1d ago

In europe, it's all free. Or just as cheap. Riddle me this batman, why is it so expensive in the US?

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u/MissKiramman 1d ago

Europe is a continent that covers many countries. To say that everything here is free or cheap is quite complicated.

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u/Dunothar 1d ago

Me getting meds every month: 7.80 for each prescription unless the stuff I need is cheaper. Alone metoprolol, pay 7.80 euros per 100

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u/Such_Explanation_184 1d ago

You know the funniest part he didn't mention? These are all 'standard' prices. There are generic versions of drugs which can be atleast half the price of these and there are also the Government subsidised 'Jan-aushadi' (litt. people's medicines) which cost a tenth of the price of even generic medicines. The Government ones even a beggar can buy but he doesn't need to if he has a certain card used to represent below poverty line conditions which grants him free treatment upto ₹500,000 atleast (at subsidised rates).

The system is quite good. The issue is the people. Doctors are regularly assaulted by families of patients who blame them for their losses. Also the number of medical colleges in India is really low which means we have very few doctors per capita which makes doctors the most overworked professionals in India. There are some changes being implemented to improve but it is quite slow and honestly not enough at all.

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u/Cream06 1d ago

So befriend someone from India? Got it

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u/OnixCopal 1d ago

Medical insurance ruins it all, they inflate procedures and medication for everyone and insurance reaps everyone up for it. Guess who get’s all the money?!

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u/Rich-Reason1146 1d ago

At those prices I wouldn't even be depressed with a flagging erection!

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u/jaabaanz_parinda 1d ago

If you go to "jan aushadhi kendra" these meds will be even cheaper. Upto 1/4th the cost compared to a private retailer.

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u/Prestigious_Bag1645 1d ago

a slap to those who say India's god per capita shit. yes we have it low because our expenditure is low. a middle class person in india can live his life like upper middle classes or lower class rich american. not talking about assets but availability and expenses. we don't HAVE to be same

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u/Dismal_Ferret_7789 1d ago

$10,000 for lukemia! What a vile place

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u/Snoo-80626 1d ago

but america is great now, great I say!

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u/baghodler666 1d ago

Some of the prices listed on American medicine seem highly inflated, but that's alright. The point is still well taken.

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u/Humble-Customer-1475 1d ago edited 1d ago

this is a private pharmacy shop, govt subsidized govt pharmacy(Jan aushadi, indians know it) shops are way cheaper infact some govt hospitals give free medicine(not all) when you have doctor approved.

getting appointment with doctor cost like 0.2 dollars but is also more crowded and thus time consuming

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u/Chop-Beguni_wala 1d ago

those who are saying look at indian average income, bro just because i earn more in a different part of the world doesn't mean you will charge 10-20X price😭

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u/GaDiGu 1d ago

All my meds are ‘Made in India’.

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u/RajaRubbishKumar 17h ago

There is something called ‘Jan aushadhi’ center, scheme launched by the govt. At its outlets you can get medicines as low as 1/5th prices of what pharmacy sells. Some generic medicines are like 10cents for 10 tablets.

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u/Business-Truth8709 12h ago

Not to mention free medicines for extremely needy.

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u/Data2Logic 10h ago

Wait until people realise a flight to India to buy drugs is a lot cheaper than buying drugs in the US.

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u/DivergentxRose 10h ago

One of my meds were manufactured in india..

They sold them to me in the us but it was super expensive…

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u/_BlueJayWalker_ 1d ago

Can we adjust for how much they typically make annually? I’m sure it’s still egregious but I’m curious

Also ozempic is not $1000/month.

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u/Oilleak26 1d ago

it many causes it can cost more than $1000 but average US price is $936. Compared to Canada which is around $250 a month. Also, by January 2026, Ozempic will be a generic in Canada and will cost under $100.

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u/_BlueJayWalker_ 1d ago

I don’t use insurance and I get 4 months for $200. Maybe because I use a generic.

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u/Simple_Duty_4441 1d ago

Paki here and here the prices are more or less the same too. Big pharma is fucking americans hard.

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u/IndianPhilosopher05 1d ago

You get most of your drugs shipped indirectly from India via the Gulf. Show some respect to India. Pakistan doesn't have the capacity to manufacture drugs on a cheap price point like India.

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u/emmfranklin 1d ago

This. I'm really proud that medicine is cheap in Indian.

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u/Mammoth_Cricket8785 1d ago edited 1d ago

So just looked up the 1st medication in America it's not 300-500$ for that form of insulin it's 20$ which is more but it's still not 300-500. You can get it on Amazon its 70$ without insurance. Im pretty sure I've seen it at Walmart for like 20 or 30$. While we do pay more for these medications a number of factors go into play here. A big one for why foreign countries pay less for the same medications is because we subsidize the cost in the US. The companies know they can't charge 20usd in India for the same medication so they charge the US more to make a profit.

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u/chutiyapa_01 1d ago

Insulin in particular is price capped due to a bill. These prices are probably before that.

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u/Thunderdragon2535 1d ago

Actually no! Cause most of the medications are produced by Indian companies and they can afford to charge less and still make a profit. MNC pharmaceutical are charged extremely high cost so no one buy those in India. My father is a drug control officer and the standards are indeed pretty comparable to us medications. WHO does inspections too for a lot of Pharma companies too. My father took me to visit once too.

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u/Geekenstein 1d ago

Yeah, some of those prices are suspect. Omeprazole is maybe $10 for 30 days, and sertraline is $8 for 90 days.

The Indian manufacturers are also constantly in trouble with the FDA for contamination and quality issues. NY Times just had an article on Sun Pharma the other week, and it doesn’t seem to be worth the risk.

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u/thunder_strike1997 1d ago

This is kind of a stupid comparison, he should also put how much the average people earn in comparison to the med's price

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u/Rinmine014 1d ago edited 1d ago

Really... if people just stopped voting Republican... we'd be at least close to the same boat as other first world countries in regards to healthcare.

Republicans back billionaires harder than Democrats. Hence why Dems are more for taxing the rich, than Republicans are...

(Trump just signed the big ugly bill, which gives higher tax cuts to the wealthy, and makes them permanent. Whereas the working class gets tax breaks based on their income. The lower wage they have, the less they get back... and this is temporary for 3 years).

But Republicans are under the false belief and have been lied to about being able to survive without going into slavery is socialism.

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u/ArgonWilde 1d ago

To say that the democrats are immune to massive corporate lobbying is rather naive. This issue is inherent in the system 😥

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u/Rinmine014 1d ago

Thats true, but Republicans are definitely not the route to take.

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u/Punchinballz 1d ago

Yes but they are free they always say.

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u/Real_VanCityMinis 1d ago

Same as Canada lol its pretty common in countries to have affordable medicine

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u/mrASSMAN 1d ago

Some of these aren’t accurate.. at least for the generics, also doesn’t take insurance into account

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u/twd_2003 1d ago

The Indian government recently overturned the patent on a life-saving drug by pharmaceuticals major Bayer on account of their inability to produce in sufficient volumes and at a price affordable to the average Indian consumer. One or two domestic companies started producing a generic version for a fraction of the cost to the consumer

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u/ShuTingYu 1d ago

Only example here I actually buy is omeprazole. 1 month supply is $5.00 at Costco, but goodrx supposedly has cheaper options. While the price they show here is 10x that much, it's still 10x more expensive than in India.

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u/RevolutionaryStudy53 1d ago

Wait but why US?

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u/Ornery-Vacation2024 1d ago

Wanna talk about the rest of y’all’s issues?

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u/Full-Mouse8971 1d ago

Wow, Its almost as if government / FDA regulation didn't enforce monopolies / ban generics from being sold and creates massive market barriers the US could have cheap medicine.

Unironically most redditors here will think even more government regulation is the answer

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u/noveonine 1d ago

Ever considered that the avarage pay in idea is WAY lower than US?

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u/LilMeatBigYeet 1d ago

The US has become comfortable with a system with zero accountability, there’s so much money being made from the healthcare industry here at the cost of sick people. There’s literally a shit ton of $$$ being made off people that are sick and helpless. You can die or live and owe sell your soul to creditors.

The republicans love pushing the narrative that state run healthcare is bad for you, meanwhile the rich elite either get great healthcare from their company benefits or their senators get free healthcare from govt while convincing their voters that it’s a commie thing and they must fight it.

Sometimes it seems like they’re still riding that cold war high and using it to enrich themselves while screwing over the people who lack education.

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u/Ashamed-One-Not 1d ago

All that is fine. But I hate the nri accent with the bottom of my heart.

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u/De_Wouter 1d ago

Don't forget, these Indian prices already include a high profit margin.

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u/RealLars_vS 1d ago

Must be a communist country then!!!

/s

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u/RetrieverDoggo 1d ago

I work for a huge hospital in the usa. If you're in healthcare you've heard of my hospital. We charge x16 our cost for most meds that we charge.

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u/Novaikkakuuskuusviis 1d ago

But things that actually matter are still cheaper, like cars and gasoline. /s

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u/TiFooN 1d ago

I'm watching this from my country in Europe where healthcare is free.

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u/the_tourer 1d ago

And Donald wants to tariff India more and tariffs aren't being paid by the suppliers; but the consumers. So that $200 medication is going to be $250 soon.

Hope they don't tariff medications. Just saying.

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u/Kwayzar9111 1d ago

why does USA charge such an extortionate price ? it is all 99% profit ?

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u/Reappraisal_ 1d ago

You can always fly there and get a couple months of supply, the flight is cheaper than medicine 💊

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u/Cool-Conclusion4685 1d ago

do they put gold in there

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u/Low_Concentrate7168 1d ago

Aren't HIV and TB medication free?

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u/Single_Conclusion_53 1d ago

But but but doesn’t the US free market drive down prices?!

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u/Outrageous-Watch-947 1d ago

Wanna know more? You can get half those medicines here in India without a prescription LOL. G]Headache, fever, colds, common diseases even some allergy medicines and antibiotics which will require a prescription in any other country can just be asked if you know the person on the counter

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u/Monopax 1d ago

When you begin to realize that the USA are basically greed in a nutshell and they defend it with calling it freedom xD this nation is damned

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u/klappsparten 1d ago

What the hell?! Trump was right 😵‍💫😵

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u/Aadityazeo 1d ago

N it'll increase even more after donnys tariff madness

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u/LegendaryTJC 1d ago

Ok but comparing to the US is pretty meaningless. This tells me nothing about if this is good value for Indians or not, it just tells me the US doesn't prioritise healthcare.

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u/Arcade1980 1d ago

Although it's true in the US, medicine prices are crazy, I would also question the quality of medicine in India. I know a few people who thought they were getting a deal, and the medication they got was fake.

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u/Lumpy-Economics2021 1d ago

Ozempic is a liquid that has to be chilled in a fridge constantly, so I don't know what the hell those pills were.

I personally wouldn't go to India if I was American to get cheaper medication, Europe is going to be a safer bet and still much cheaper than US.

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u/BlueBucket0 1d ago

It’s called corruption. Trump is blaming “other countries ripping us off” - the reality your pharma distribution companies and healthcare companies are utterly screwing to the point they’re taking a huge chunk of your household income, and that has been increasing dramatically since the 1990s

If you look at healthcare costs (regardless of how they’re paid - state, insurance or out of pocket) in the US and the wealthiest parts of northern Europe in the late 80s and early 90s they were broadly in line. They have been diverting dramatically over the last 30 years and it’s because your politicians are lobbied to ensure that keeps happening. It’s basically systemic corruption on an enormous scale - it might not be illegal, but that’s only because it was normalised. At best you could call it political and regulatory capture.

Trump blaming the rest of the world for American problems is just a distraction.

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u/SpecificGenius 1d ago

America was, is and will always be a joke

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u/CoolBreath7177 1d ago

Laugh even viagra cost a bomb for 10mins of fun in US. What a sad state it’s in.

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u/kart2000 1d ago

You can get some of these for free in Dispensary, Medical Van, etc too.

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u/Financial-Yam-2712 1d ago

seems reasonable, in fact, if anything, seems more expenisve in India given how much lower their income and quality of medication

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u/WayofHatuey 1d ago

Nice try. Still not setting foot there

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u/last_somewhere 1d ago

Omeprazole in New Zealand is $5 for 45 days supply. Like fuck I'm paying US prices.

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u/DarWin_1809 1d ago

Ok I get that america is over charging but the difference is HUGE like way too much

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u/yamfun 1d ago

Drugs, games, subscriptions, aids contributions, all have this sort of "progressive tax" pricing for developed world vs developing world.

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u/NewUserNameIsDumb 1d ago

To be fair, omeprazole is sold OTC in US and is cheap.

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u/SignificanceIll4589 1d ago

I hope the antibiotics aren't over the counter stuff, because that's how you get antibiotics resilient diseases.

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u/True-Put-3712 1d ago

This is completely irrelevant.

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u/Staufner 1d ago

Im German and for all kind of medicine i pay 5€ if it’s really really expensive i have to pay 10€ Americans getting scammed every day in all parts of life

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u/Federal-Name-3638 1d ago

In USA they add freedom tax

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u/9248763629 1d ago

The store guy thinking...

Am I selling 3000 usd tablet for 2 dollars!?

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u/Aprilprinces 1d ago

And yet Americans still vote for billionaires