Canadians Pay Twice as Much as We Do For Generics
This is from a Fraser Institute Report: 
- On average, Canadian seniors pay 101 percent more than American seniors for identical generic drugs.
- On average, Canadian seniors pay 57 percent less than American seniors for identical brand name drugs.
- Higher Canadian generic prices are caused by government policies that shield retail pharmacies and generic manufacturers from competitive market forces that would put downward pressure on generic prices.
Think of the irony here.
We are told that the US system is dominated by special interests like the big pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, we should become like Canada.
Turns out, special interest drug companies are more powerful in Canada than they are in the US.
This post needs more explanation. Canada has no brand drug companies. It’s drug companies produce generics. So Canada forces down the price of brand name drugs, benefiting its own patients at the expense of US companies.
By contrast, it protects Canadian generic manufacturers — at the expense of Canadian patients.
Americans often health about how drugs in Canada are about one-third less expensive than in the United States. But that is only true for drugs still under patent protection. Generic drugs are a great resource for many ailments and are a relative bargain compared to prices charged in Canada. Moreover, there are a variety of cost-saving techniques that patients can use to lower their prescription drug bills. These include splitting double-strength tablets, ordering in bulk, order by mail, therapeutic substitution, generic substitution and looking for OTC medications that are from the same class as prescription drugs. Shopping for Drugs: 2007 (http://www.ncpathinktank.org/pdfs/st293.pdf)