United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-05-17 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:HEHS-94-30 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-30 P0b002ee180385bbb f:he94030 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-30 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-30 HEHS-94-30 Pharmaceutical industry Price regulation Foreign governments Pharmacological research Comparative analysis Drugs Research and development costs Price indexes Health care cost control Price fixing France Germany Sweden United Kingdom Medicaid Program Other Written Product HEHS Although the United States has traditionally allowed drug prices to be determined by the free market, other countries use a variety of policies to control prescription drug costs. This report analyzes the effects of pharmaceutical policies in the following four European countries: France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. GAO (1) describes the strategies these countries use to control prescription drug prices and limit pharmaceutical spending, (2) reviews the effects of the policies on drug prices and spending, and (3) analyzes the effects of these policies on pharmaceutical research and development. GAO found that controls on pharmaceuticals have succeeded in restraining prices in the four countries but have not prevented increases in drug spending, owing to higher consumption and newer, more expensive drugs. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-30/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-30.htm GAO/HEHS-94-30 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-30 Other Written Product GAO/HEHS-94-30; Prescription Drugs: Spending Controls in Four European Countries; Pharmaceutical industry Price regulation Foreign governments Pharmacological research Comparative analysis Drugs Research and development costs Price indexes Health care cost control Price fixing France Germany Sweden United Kingdom Medicaid Program