One Drug, Many Prices

A Proposal to Reform US Healthcare Pricing

This site hosts the full sources, derivations, and frequently asked questions for the note. Each number in the note is traceable to its primary source here, with direct links to the underlying articles and data.

Figures

Figure 1. Price gaps across payers for the same service or productUS payers

For ten common drugs, hospital services, and outpatient procedures, this figure compares what the VA, Medicare, a private insurer, and an uninsured patient pay for the same service.

View the Figure 1 sources page →

Figure 2. Drug prices by countryInternational

For nine medications negotiated under the Inflation Reduction Act, this figure compares the US list price, the US estimated net price, the Medicare negotiated price, and prices in six peer developed countries.

View the Figure 2 sources page →

Online appendix

Frequently asked questionsAppendix

Responses to common questions about the three reforms, covering price-fixing, central planning, generic pricing, provider opt-outs, rural hospitals, and fiscal impact.

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Disclosure on the use of AI

The author used AI tools throughout the preparation of this note to refine arguments, collect and verify data, produce figures and tables, build this companion website, and polish the prose. The ideas, intellectual contributions, and editorial judgments are the author's, who takes full responsibility for the content.