Hospital stays cost more. U.S. doctors are quick to embrace new technology. The system was deemed the most inadequate because of its failure to serve the poor and families. People over 65 with incomes below the poverty level and who qualify for Medicaid assistance typically spend 35 percent of their income on health care. That figure shoots up to 50 percent for people not getting Medicaid.
Private insurance covers about one-third.
Wisconsin Joins Multistate Lawsuit Attorney General James Doyle and his office have joined nine other states in a multistate lawsuit alleging that the nation's second largest generic drug manufacturer and four of its suppliers violated state antitrust laws that resulted in skyrocketing prices. Mylan Laboratories, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania allegedly conspired to monopolize the market for two generic drugs, lorazepam and clorazepate. The drug is also prescribed to treat anxiety, tension, agitation and insomnia. Clorazepate is used to treat anxiety for nicotine and opium withdrawal. According to Doyle, Mylan attempted to convince their four suppliers to enter into exclusive long-term contracts, and as a result, the company was able to drive up their prices as much as 3,200 percent.