Insurer group: Rx, hospital costs in U.S. outpace other countries

Hospital and drug prices in the U.S. consistently outpace those in other countries studied by the International Federation of Health Plans for its newly released 2015 Comparative Price Report.

Researchers compiled data from more than 500 million U.S. claims showing prices negotiated and paid to providers, including more than 170 million pharmacy claims and 370 million medical claims. Prices for Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom were provided by one private health plan in each country.

Here's how the average cost of a 30-day supply of certain medications compares between countries:

  • The rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira cost more than $2,500 in the U.S. but only $552 in South Africa.
  • The blood thinner Xarelto cost $296 in the U.S.; the closest price overseas was $126 in the U.K. The price in South Africa was $48.
  • The hepatitis C drug Harvoni cost $32,114 in the U.S., twice the $16,861 in Switzerland.
  • The multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidara cost $5,089 in the U.S., compared to $663 in the U.K.

The painkiller OxyContin, however, cost less in the U.S. than in the U.K., where a 30-day supply cost $590, compared with $265 stateside.

When it came to the cost of five common diagnostic tests including colonoscopy and MRI, the U.S. and the U.K. split between which was the most expensive. U.K. diagnostic test were more expensive in three of the five cases.

The average cost per day of a hospital stay, meanwhile, was $5,220 in the U.S., compared with $4,781 in the U.K., $765 in Australia and $424 in Spain. And for each of eight common surgical procedures, the total hospital and physician cost in the U.S. far outpaced costs in the other countries.

- here’s the report