Prescription Drugs: Prices and Regulation in Canada and Europe
(Testimony, 07/27/94, GAO/T-HEHS-94-213).

GAO compared U.S. prescription drug prices with the prices of identical
drugs in Canada and the United Kingdom. GAO also reviewed the policies
that Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have
adopted to limit national expenditures on prescription drugs. Although
government regulation has restrained drug prices in these five
countries, the implications--and the desirability--of similar
intervention in the U.S. pharmaceutical market are unclear. More
specifically, the effects of a price reduction in any of these countries
may differ from the effects of a similar price cut in the United States
because each of the five countries represents a relatively smaller share
of the global pharmaceutical market. In addition, the particular price
and spending control policies used in these countries may not be readily
transferred to the United States because of institutional differences
across countries. In any case, any gains from regulation of drug prices
or spending must be weighed against the consequences of such regulations
for pharmaceutical research and development.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-HEHS-94-213
     TITLE:  Prescription Drugs: Prices and Regulation in Canada and 
             Europe
      DATE:  07/27/94
   SUBJECT:  Price regulation
             Pharmaceutical industry
             Drugs
             Pharmacological research
             Cost analysis
             Foreign governments
             Health care cost control
             Price fixing
             Research and development costs
             Price indexes
IDENTIFIER:  Canada
             France
             Germany
             Sweden
             United Kingdom
             Netherlands
             Italy
             Spain
             
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