Why Pharmaceuticals Are So Complicated In The U.S. | CNBC Marathon 

Pharmaceuticals is not the only complicated thing in the US. Everything is complicated in the US. Take an example, health insurance. There are many plans, policies, classes,.... Or buying a house: opening cost/fee, closing fee, escrow, finances, fixed rates/flex rates, .... At the end of your life, things are still complicated: burial options, locations, type of graves. I'm not making this up: When we buried my father, the cemetery director asked me : "Do you want double layer or single layer in your dad's grave?" Single layer means no other casket could be placed on my dad's casket. Double layer means another casket, be that my mom's or a family member's, could be on top of my father's. Each option had its different price when they sold you the burial lots. Greed. Greed. Greed.

It still baffles me that America, the 'greatest nation on earth' doesn't have universal heath care or subsidised medicine

Two-thirds of all personal bankruptcies are due to medical bills. In US you’re 1 series medical issue away from having money to filing for bankruptcy

I did a report on this industry for an ethics class. This industry is one of the most evil things that still exists.

The solution is to not get sick or injured or have any health complications whatsoever.

Pharmacies and doctors are so extra in the US. In Mexico, you go to a doctor and get your medicine without all this BS for less than 30 bucks. Same medicine, same stuff

The problem is that discount cards are also used to collect your information for sale to data brokers and other companies that want to harvest and aggregate as much information about you as possible. And that's a huge problem in this country.

My insurance company fights to not cover medications. Even if I have been on the same medications for several years. They need prior authorizations which are a waste of time and energy for me and my doctors. They keep trying to make me go back on medications that don't work for me.Insurance companies are another issue.

So what you're saying is that health insurance companies need to be abolished?

My dad has alzheimer's. We can't spend 26k/year that's a joke companies that price these treatments so high are just the devil

Only God can help America The country is plagued with greed Cheers from west Africa 🦅

God Bless Mr. Sahin and Ms. Tureci. They have good hearts.

Great topic, thanks👏

According to my financial adviser Bryan Anderson", now is the best time to trade or invest, buying BTC and ALTS and most stocks with a DCA strategy. I just can't imagine what my portfolio would look like in the next leg up, but have already got 2x my $30k thousand dollars am fine and out.

CVS is both a PBM and a pharmacy - and their PBM's also negotiate with non-CVS pharmacies? How is that even allowed lol - they can literally see and set prices for their competing pharmacies!

My primary medication, as of 2019, was $19,500/month. In 2008 it was just $860/month. That's not a typo. The raw materials to make this medication did not change in price during this 11 years. I could literally make it for $40/month. But I would get thrown in a cage.

It's not complicated. It's called greed.

What a joke, the US needs to have one buying agency which negotiates prices for all prescription medicines

The fact that pharmacists get paid over $120k a year on average tell me that a lot of opportunities for good jobs are not being taken.

We were wainting for this!!

CVS Health lies about how much they save. PCMA lies about giving us choice of pharmacy. Adam Fein gets a lot of money from PBMs. NCPA tells the truth. Many independent pharmacies will offer a lower cash price than insurance. With insurance, the PBMs will often tell retail pharmacies and independent pharmacies to charge a higher price. Sometimes, pbms will require the patient to pay more than the cash price at an independent pharmacy.

This went from being about Why Pharmaceuticals Are So Complicated In The U.S. to a one hour ad for pharmaceutical companies. According to this ad pfizer is a great company.

Your are the only one mentor who talks about the real market and teached us a very best analysis . Love you and take care.

CVS has astronomical costs for all items, not just meds. It is truly ridiculous their prices for items like household products and snacks.

The hardest thing about being a pharmacist is deciphering the doctors handwriting.

If you encourage generic drug manufacturing, then it's easy to reduce health care costs.

"Call around"...they won't give prices over the phone due to some drugs being abused. Discount cards resell and track your info...like everything else.

Why is it that on every investigation where something is failing in the USA I repeatedly hear the word "choices" as the good reason it's a complete mess? What REAL choice you have when you can't afford any of those choices.

Same old day… follow the money.

Fantastic explanation

I’m screwed as a type 1 if I ever find myself without insurance. Insulin is insanely expensive and I really don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t get it through my insurance.

When the government controls your health, the government controls you.

Every pill is cheap, but the first one cost 5 billion dollars. look up how much pharma equipment cost. it has to be stainless steel and clean room ready. it worse than saying wedding when your buying something.

I love how on 3:50 a man has the bottle on the background and then the next photo is that exact bottle but on the old phrmacy picture

The pharmaceutical industry is a monopoly. They can charge anything they want for the drugs. The retail pharmacies are oligarchs, there are only 3 chains that do most of the business. This is not capitalism, this is not a free market, this is a protected industry that rips off both the citizens and the insurance industry. The insurance industry can pass on the cost with higher rates, so it is you the consumer that pays and pays, as there is no real competition. To think they should be able to act this way shows how money buys a politicians vote.

The idea that consumers have a choice with their insurance of pharmacies is quite a distortion. For example, I have CVS Caremark as my insurance provider. I am allowed to go to any pharmacy of me choosing for a 30 day supply or 1 initial 90 day supply, of which I am allowed one of per medication per year (for maintenance drugs). Otherwise, I am only allowed to use CVS or Caremark’s mail in pharmacy. If they do not use one of their pharmacies, and my maintenance drug is not covered. I do not understand how that is legal.

Great video. Epic thumbnail…lol😂🤣😂👍

Very informative! Thank you CNBC.

All about money and greed.

It appears the pharmaceutical manufacturers are trying to shift the blame for high cost to anyone and everyone. We know where the profits are going.

I stopped using corporate pharmacies. They kept saying my meds are rare..they cant get them..whatever.. i use a private now and no issues

Why does a six-month supply of insulin cost $100 in Mexico for the same person that needs to pay $1,300 for the same exact insulin through her insurance company in the USA?

In France, we receive no charge on medications !

Solution : Single-payer healthcare system like the NHS

Words of an elderly lady(R.I.P.)my wife took care of..."Here they will prescribe medication for hair,nails,skin,etc."A multi million dollar business.

2:39 humph, flashback to the beginning of the March 2020 lockdowns and liquor stores deemed "essential" for staying open lol

If the (largely Texas) Border-Wall railway train _(which btw should be built and intended to make profit from various things including cargo and passenger rail and ecology cash-crops, all tracked or planned via OAUth2 and OIDC)_ had a dual-gauge track so that it could have a 3Metre gauge as the larger wide tracks, on the train, suitable (expandable) containers resembling double shipping containers could be placed together _(joined, as they are about 2.5Metres wide each, once expanded if need be)_ so a 5Metre wide double-width shipping container could sit on a train flatbed like a carriage. It means a mock-up could be easily made in a location far from the railway by using two actual shipping containers if retrofitted with equipment correctly (for planning or training). You'd get an hospital train theatre in that and the one behind it could be something like a pharmacy or chemist or dispensary (for limited medicines). A dental carriage could be deployed too (possibly up to MaxFax). If that hospital-train were to be deployed for a week in April and then another week in October (6months apart), for a one year pilot scheme trial of the train, it would mean that medicines and surgeries would be predictable via graphical linear inequalites for logistics because they (the medical staff) know when the train is due (April and October), and also because all patients would need to have a registration-certificate in advance (a4-certificate, laminated) via Oauth2 and OIDC for OIDC service-provider and identity-provider via the train's SimpleSAMLphp server running on a raspberrypizero2w and amd64 SBC (or intel SBC) running skole-linux. even though a RISC (or possibly RISC-V) server for the SimpleSAMLphp server would exist, at some point a CISC CPU (basically amd64 or intel) server _(e.g. an intel SBC or i5 or a Ryzen or Athlon or PowerPC)_ for SimpleSAMLphp would exist as part of that system, for skole-linux, even if a Pine64 or pinebook/pinephone ran as part of it all. A village hall in that State (and a State next to it) could also provide a marquee registration day in advance, printing the A4-certificates (unique to each registered user for patient and staff with many a QR code on it). Collaboration with local medical buildings mean that they too would know what healthcare they might sometimes (but not always) plan for (come April and October) if they too recognised the OAuth-OIDC A4-certificates. The train would not be a co-operative, however, if an independent bricks-and-mortar nearby were a co-operative, it is the sort of logistics model (for medical supplies) they would be likley to be able to plan for _(since they'd know when the train was timetabled and might take Oauth-OIDC timetables in advance)._ A large pharmaceutical company could also do that because they are large. It would depend on a case by case basis, who did what (if at all). The point of the logistics though is that either a small co-op or large company could plan for the train so it helps them all. There are some things an hospital train does not do. An example is that it is unlikely a train would be able to account for radiation safety in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, since a bricks and mortar hospital does that. Staff and customers who use an hospital train as private healthcare (or workplace healthcare package) know it is only for limited health treatments, and then their healthcare vouchers list those _(like pricing on a dental surgery wall shows as a paper A4-poster on a wall in the waiting room)_ and those vouchers would then expire every 4 years _(in line with an April or October Long-Term-Support 4year voucher),_ and so some of those "about to expire" vouchers (if unused) would be eligible for donation to a local-person-patient _(essentially as a form of philanthropy-healthcare from the staff-member or private customer patient)_ so all those people are registered each with an unique A4-certificate via OAuth-OIDC for OpenID federated login. On account of the fact that sometimes smoe operations require drugs like antibiotics, a prescription Rx would be part of that operation voucher. Sometimes though, a voucher would pay some fraction of the total cost or the entire cost, depending on what that medical treatment entailed. Scalable logistics (for Rx-drugs and surgery) and known quantity train timetabling for thet philanthropy-healthcare (April and October) is more likely to be affordable (bulk buys as an example) via OAuth and OIDC registrations on a skole-linux server. The train runs for the private and staff healthcare for other times of the year too. It is more scalable and smaller than changing an entire system over all states. The staff healthcare vouchers are not insurance per se, but rather a voucher redeemable against some things on the treatment list and you ether use it or you don't. For example, you have a dental-root-canal voucher and you either use it in that 4years or you don't (and it expires upon 4years). After that 4years, upon still working there, you get another voucher replacing that same medical-treatement or instead some other treatment list. Doctors on the train are contracted to the train. A doctor who teaches other doctors on the train has tenure on a carriage (or a tenure share with another doctor). It is known that people with health-packages _(which might be the hospital-train or an insurance package or NHS)_ also use health-tourism especially in other countries and plan their comparison shopping to fix their health problems in an order they have planned for. People like to mix one-off private healthcare treatments with such behaviours too. An OAuth2 and OIDC A4-certificate (unique to them as a person) for federated registration allows for them to plan for that. A voucher system (hospital train) like that does not pretend to replace everything in healthcare and instead works in a way that knows people will probably deliberately move form healthcare to tourism elsewhere. It makes other healthcare systems (be it private, charity, co-op, philanthropy or NHS) able to provide (e.g. sell) patients treatments they otherwise would not have considered being able to opt for. For example, a person who saves their tooth via root-canal on a voucher could then consider to do dental tourism to get braces fitted or veneers via a private dentist unrelated to thet hospital train _(because they have enough teeth to actually succeed at doing it)._ Initial training of doctors/health-staff on that train means a loss-leader occurs, especially performing what is essentially a large part of philanthropy healthcare on some local people in need, however, after that training period, the loss-leader means profits can happen and the doctors/healthcare-staff are under contract to that hospital train, so they cannot just vanish. My comment has no hate in it and I do no harm. I am not appalled or afraid, boasting or envying or complaining... Just saying. Psalms23: Giving thanks and praise to the Lord and peace and love. Also, I'd say Matthew6.

CVS caremark is terrible, any prescription I have ever had has required prior authorization.

A discount card is a card or document, often a plastic credit card or paper card, that entitles the holder to discounts on the prices of some products or services. Cards may be issued as part of a loyalty program, offering discounts to existing customers to ensure their continuing custom; they may be offered free of charge, offering a modest discount with the intention of persuading purchasers to patronise participating shops; or they may be sold to members, offering larger discounts-for example, the tastecard offers 50% discounts at many restaurants-at a substantial annual cost. Cards may be offered by merchants or groups of merchants, by clubs or associations who negotiate on behalf of all members to obtain benefits, or by official organisations offering concessionary prices to qualifying groups, such as the disabled.

I am sixty plus and I feel I am so fortunate to be born and live in chennai,India. The greatest place for very low cost health care and medicines. 🙏🙏

Incredibly sad that dying is a danger for many who can't afford the continuing rise in medication costs. Hubs living that nightmare now even insured through Medicare part c. His meds run almost 1000 a month in co pays

Hello CNBC News 😻💕

Some Insurance companies want you to order your meds online from them now.

why didnt they call the companies post-split Johnson, and Johnson

The first thing you see at a hospital in a country with universal health care is NO BILLING DEPARTMENT.

So true CVS and Walgreens the same medication for different or mostly the same but across the street at a grocery store chain the price was dramatically cheaper 20 to $25 at the other place $7 at the grocery store

it's incredible what the founders as well as the team at Biontech have brought to this world.

The problem always comes down to private insurance. Both doctors and pharmacists set whatever prices because they don’t know how much they’ll be reimbursed.

I work at a Walgreens and CVS Caremark is always forcing customers to go to their pharmacies or else they’ll stop paying

The editing is all over the place here, and it appears they accidentally uploaded several different videos at once.

Hello my friend, may I ask if your company needs anti-cancer drugs- (Including formula, raw materials, semi-finished products)? I am from China.

i used to think that the most greedy sector of our healthcare system was the insurance companies, but i was wrong all along, its the providers, doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies, that are greedier...they charge us and the insurance companies as much as they can, squeezing every penny they can.

Why are none of the linked websites (https) ??

The BioNTec part seem out of tune with the theme of the article. For a moment i thought RU-vid had jumped to another video! Why the hell did CNBC do that? That part seems like a commercial hidden inside a documentary.

What is Biontech doing to reduce virus hysteria, reduce exaggeration, reduce overreaction, reduce over-treatment, reduce medical malpractice and reduce medical tyranny?

Profits and greed; shame!

There’s all this money out there, but yet they can’t pay their staff. Make it make sense

Where do they keep the pain pills at?

Ima a crazy taxi driver popey

Pharmaceuticals are considered complicated in the United States due to several factors: 1.Regulatory Framework: The U.S. has a complex regulatory framework for pharmaceuticals, primarily overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 2. Patent System: The U.S. has a robust patent system that grants exclusivity to pharmaceutical companies for a set period. This exclusivity allows companies to recoup their research and development costs and make profits. However, it also means that generic versions of drugs are delayed, resulting in higher prices for brand-name medications. 3. Pricing and Insurance: The pricing of pharmaceuticals in the U.S. is complex and often controversial. The lack of price controls allows pharmaceutical companies to set their own prices for drugs. Additionally, the involvement of intermediaries, such as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and insurance companies, further complicates the pricing structure. This can lead to significant variations in drug prices and challenges in affordability and access for patients. 4. Marketing and Advertising: Pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. heavily invest in direct-to-consumer advertising, which is permitted in the country. While advertising can educate consumers about treatment options, it also contributes to increased demand for specific medications, potentially influencing prescribing patterns and healthcare costs. 5. Healthcare System Fragmentation: The U.S. healthcare system is fragmented, with various stakeholders involved, including insurance companies, healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. This fragmentation can lead to challenges in coordination, negotiation, and transparency, making the pharmaceutical landscape more complex. 6. Litigation and Liability: The U.S. has a litigious culture, and pharmaceutical companies face the risk of lawsuits related to drug side effects or other issues. This risk can influence the research and development process, as well as impact the availability and pricing of certain medications.

The "big 3" so understaff their stores with relation to the number of prescriptions they have to fill, no wonder they have days and days of delays in filling scripts. Plus, cvs also force fills scripts when you haven't asked for refills. It keeps happening to me. The store's answer- just don't pick up what you don't want. Well that don't fix the wasted effort and time filling and billing, then refunding and reshelving it.

Complicated is not synonymous to Corrupt or am I missing something.

I'm a doctor in Atlanta, our 40% medicine 💊 are made in India, US is way to expensive compair to other country's, it's a mess

Insurance company should be non profit period. We need a new revolution in that area. More transparency, groups join together to form self insure group using social networking. Federal and state law need to change to allow it happening to reduce cost and Much more needed to be done for the people not the corporation

You used the wrong C word, I think you meant to say corrupt not complicated. The word pharmaceutical comes from a Greek word that means Black Magick. It isn't complicated. It was made corrupt.

Antibiotics in Asia was only 50¢ a tablet here it's $100 for a 10 day supplies

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why does everything have to be so complicated in the US?

Let’s get started…

It's not complicated cause the model is built in greed. Pretty non complicated really.

I have a law degree, but I didn't get the PBM part.

Politicians haven’t outlawed this.

I love the irony of a Harvard med school professor explaining that societies brain can't keep up with his. Gucci gucci gucci smart harvard professor money money money!

Sounds like a racket to me 😂

If I drive 45 mins away my medicine is free yet same state,same store they will charge me if I pick up near my house. It’s clearly a scam and a joke.

people need to educated for drug price, the ONLY reason pharmacies and pharmaceuticals able to charge as high as they want is because customers are not INFORMED with price. how many of you actually ask the price of the prescriptions when you send it to the pharmacy? if we all start asking the price, these price will come down. an example an antibiotic drug i had years ago at a Walgreen was 95buck. the same exact drug at Wal-Mart is 4.50. i was so stunned when i pick up the prescription thought they might made a mistake. if there is walmart around GET YOUR PRESCRIPTION from them, with insurance or without insurance they are dirt cheap on the generic brand compare to blood suckers like CVS and walgreen.

It's your sugar companies too. There's alot of corporations that aren't good.

And their child will eventually see her parents abusing each other on TV. Disgusting

See how it says “STOP SELLING IN U.s and Canada. “ WONDER IF THEY SELL IT OTHER PLACES

I think they can handle it it's just cutting out the greed, and rewriting the rules so that engaging in the industry is still appealing to professionals

To distract you from having better lives. Complicated = More money

Yesterday I drank too much coffee and studied nothing but advanced transport phenomena so today I'm sick in bed.

$465bn off a population of 300m is ridiculous for a calendar year 2020

I can’t separate fake products vs real products myself, should I report to FDA, particularly during the pandemic?

Correction: "Pharmaceutical companies"

I worked as a pharmacy technician from 1998 to 2005 in a loca moms and pops pharmacy. I refused to uses one of this big pharmacy. I will not... period

They swiped the card the wrong way at 12:05

Bad products at high prices

A lot of medications are also brand only, there is no generic option. Discount cards and insurance still don't make these medications affordable. I'm looking at you Eliquis and Xiidra, Don't even get me started with the Medicare coverage gap...aka the donut. It's ridiculous.

*every year, politicians (from **_both sides)_** claim they're going to lower the cost of pharmaceutical drugs; yet every year, we find that nothing's changed. that's how you know how deeply entrenched these corporations have stuck their claws into our politics*