McDermott noted that the difference in prices is not the fault of the pharmacies. Rather, markups at retail pharmacies were smaller than for most other products. Victims of the price discrimination include all Americans who lack health-insurance coverage or whose health plan does not include a drug benefit. But McDermott noted that senior citizens are particularly hard hit by the problem. And many have no income other than a pension or Social Security.
Many seniors have to choose between paying for their medicine and paying the rent or grocery bill.
In a separate comparison, medicines sold in Seattle cost at least twice as much as the identical drugs in either Mexico or Canada. Similar findings were found in comparison with drug prices in Western Europe. Prices in the U.S. were higher than in any other industrialized country in the study. In all cases, the cost differential was attributed to controls on prices or provision of drugs through federal programs. The U.S. is alone among industrialized nations in not providing medical coverage for all its citizens.