healthcare follower

Health Executives See Few Reasons to Worry About Health Care 'Reforms'

I actually have a question I have yet to see addressed. One of MCCain's ideas involves importing drugs from Canada. (Many others float this idea too)

I believe this will kill the biotech industry.

The US basically subsidizes the world's pharmaceutical markets. If firms could not get the required returns needed from drug sales here in the US to substantiate all the development spending they need to do to create them - why would anyone want to be in that business or invest in drug development. I am a bit naive on how the drugs are cheaper in other countries - but I believe the firms simply sell them for less there because there is a single purchaser (the government) who can dictate price. These countries only have the opportunity to access new drugs because the development costs (roughly $500M plus for a new compound) are covered by them setting prices in the US that allow them to recoup the development expenses.

It might be obvious, but I'm not sure what I'm missing here.