how much money is spent on pharmaceuticals in the US
BY Valerie Paris, OECD February 7, 2014 at 12:15 PM EDT. Photo by Flickr user Images_of_Money. The United States spends almost $1,000 per person per year on pharmaceuticals. Thatâs around 40 percent more than the next highest spender, Canada, and more than twice as much as than countries like France and Germany spend.ut if Americans take more pharmaceuticals, they also pay more for them. Prices in the U.S. for brand-name patented drugs are 50 to 60 percent higher than in France and twice as high as in the United Kingdom or Australia.