COTW: Mega $ Pills

It is a common place that 'Mericans spend more for drugs than in any other developed country of the world, averaging $1200 per year.  Here are two charts that explain the situation:

source: Blue Cross/Blue Shield

A major advantage of a single-payer system would be its negotiating leverage over pharmaceutical companies.  An example of how this works is the Veterans Administration system, which negotiates lower drug prices for veterans.  Since drugs are a profit industry in America, leverage is an absolute necessity when you consider the next chart:

This incredibly exploitative industry is perpetuated by hack politicians*, who dismiss any attempt to level the economic playing field by screaming, "socialist".  US Person, the "lawyer from hell", says, "Give me socialism!"

*The delusional dotard in the Very White House named Senator Rick Scott (R) of Florida as his messiah of healthcare. That is like giving a fox the key to the hen house. Scott resigned as CEO of Columbia/HCA in 1997, the same year the company was investigated for massive Medicare fraud. It eventually plead guilty to fourteen felony counts of fraud and paid some $1.7 billion in fines and penalties. The Justice Department called the case the largest health care fraud in history. No doubt any health care plan Scott and his capitalist colleagues cook up will be a "spectacular" rip-off of a sick and addicted American public. (U.S. life expectancy has declined for three years)