I know I am dumb , but Damned if I can understand how Pharmaceutical companies can sell the same drug in Canada cheaper than they sell it here. Why should we have to save money by shipping those drugs from the US to Canada then back to the US. It doesnt make sense.
Because the Canadian health monopoly is setting the prices companies can charge.
Basically, since drug companies must make money on a drug years after all the development money is spent, the Canadians are stealing some part of their drug supply from us.
The worst thing that could happen for the Canadians is to allow US customers to buy at Canadian prices. All that will happen is that Canadians will quickly be forced to pay full boat for drugs like we do because the drug companies must get the return on their costs or go bust. Canadians would pay what we do, or they wouldn't get the drugs.
Its a small market; the drug companies can afford to give them a small discount because they can make it up in the much bigger market next door.
In other words, the US consumer pays for Canada's discount.
Which is why I'm in favor of allowing cross-border drug sales. If drugs are being resold back into the US market, the Canadians will lose their discount. They know this, actually, and have already started to prohibit drug sales into the US. Which is fine. If the practice is to be outlawed, let the Canadians do it. We shouldn't be in the practice of protecting their discount for them.
Also, when they can get away with it, they tell the manufacturer that they're going to sell at a set price or the Canadian government will open a factory and make the drug themselves.
It's not just Canada...there are several countries that are pulling this same blackmail. Consequently, the price Americans pay for many drugs is artificially high: essentially we subsidize the drug costs of socialized medicine countries that are underselling drugs to their own populace.