How Germany lowered prescription drug costs

Egypt has made significant strides in eliminating hepatitis C from the country by implementing an approach that combines both affordable drug access and an effort to get the drugs to those in need. Supported by the government, the country "debuted an online portal for those with the disease to register for treatment," followed by a nationwide screening program.

Drug Aid Africa sources unused, unaltered drugs from people who don’t need them anymore and distributes them to people who do need them but can’t afford or access them. Drug Aid Africa provides free routine medications for conditions like sickle-cell anemia, as well as antimalarials, antibiotics and frequent visits to communities where they provide healthcare support and supplies. So far, the organization's efforts have helped more than 10,000 people.

Germany, like the U.S., has a largely private healthcare system that relies on private doctors and private insurers. Like Americans, many Germans enroll in a health plan through work, splitting the cost with their employer. But Germany strictly limits how much patients have to pay out of their own pockets for a trip to the doctor, the hospital, or the pharmacy, making medical debt practically nonexistent.

The Mashkiki Waakaa’igan Pharmacy provides Native American patients with their prescriptions for no out-of-pocket expenses and provides culturally-conscious care.

To "punish major drugmakers for their role in the opioid epidemic and generate funding for treatment programs," the state of New York implemented a new an excise tax on opioids. Since going into effect, though, the tax has failed to bring in the expected revenue and many opioid manufacturers and wholesalers have stopped selling their drugs to the state which has negatively impacted those who have been prescribed opioids for ailments such as pain management.

Australia's health care system combines public and private health insurance to create a hybrid model that caters to every citizen. Although there is some uncertainty surrounding the future of the private health care program due to the younger generation's tendency to choose the public option, overall, "the outcomes for both systems have been quite good," especially when compared to America's system.

Australia's hybrid system of both private and public health care offers, literally, something for everyone in the country. Although there are questions about the longevity of the private sector of insurance as it pertains to the future, and the universal public health system leaves something to be desired especially as it pertains to equitably cover everyone, "in the aggregate, the system works very well."

Throughout the US, the majority of states have policy in place that dictates against treating immigrants there illegally for kidney failure until it reaches emergent conditions, costing states millions of dollars each year. Colorado, however, recently became the sixth state to enact a new policy that allows Medicaid to cover regular dialysis treatments, saving the state $17 million per year and decreasing physician burnout from treating such severe cases.

With little progress made on a successful treatment for Alzheimer's and prices for monitored care and medications rising, several technology companies are focusing on better ways to manage care. Through tactics such as virtual reality, robotic animals and facial analyzation, these companies are trying to both better serve the patient as well as support the families.

When it comes to helping H.I.V. patients, Britain's National Health Service is able to keep prices for treatment much lower than the United States does by encouraging the use of generic drugs. The National Health Service's structure allows it to incentivize prescribing generic treatment in a way that the American system doesn't, especially as H.I.V. treatments are not being consistently replaced by something found to be more efficient.