House report: Pegging drug prices to those paid in other countries could save billions

Drug prices in the U.S. are nearly four times higher on average than those paid in similar countries, and looking to other countries for drug pricing could save billions, a new House report shows.

Staffers on the House Ways and Means Committee compared (PDF) prices for 79 drugs in the U.S. to those in 11 other countries and found the government could save $49 billion per year in Medicare Part D alone if prices were based on the averages paid in similar countries.

American patients paid by far the most for drugs, according to the...