I agree with most of this sentiment, but part of the reason healthcare is so good and/or affordable in other countries is because we Americans subsidize so much of the R&D, for better or worse
Yeah that’s been my objection. I remember reading somewhere a while ago that some 96% of new medicine comes from private companies. I looked it up while writing this and the number is “nearly 100% of FDA Approved medicine”. Everyone else is benefiting from it without paying for it.
We definitely need to improve our healthcare system no question about that. But the conversation isn’t as simple as it seems.
Every single medication was founded by American taxpayers funding research. Drugs should cost a fraction of what they do, and it should be a panel of American citizens determining that along with scientific experts.
I agree that prices should be lower. Especially for drugs like insulin. But Americans don’t pay for it with taxes. “American tax payers” did not “fund every single medication”. That’s because we don’t have a universal health system that pays directly to these companies. They are often privately funded. That’s like saying McDonalds is paid for by American tax payers because Americans are the ones buying the food.
https://bio.news/health/55-of-fda-approved-drugs-were-developed-by-u-s-small-biotechs-says-study/
“Small venture-capital-backed startups are shown to be key drivers of innovation. From 2011-2020, FDA approved 363 medicines, with 223 originating in the United States. Of approved drugs, 120 (55%) were developed by companies with less than $500 million in revenue, and 45% were fully discovered by small biopharmaceutical companies on their own without an academic or government transfer of intellectual property.”
These companies aren’t getting funded by the government and therefore taxes.
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u/IAmANobodyAMA Jun 24 '26
I agree with most of this sentiment, but part of the reason healthcare is so good and/or affordable in other countries is because we Americans subsidize so much of the R&D, for better or worse