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An example of this from my life.
I have asthma. I was diagnosed when I was 8-years-old in 1979. The first inhaler I was prescribed was Proventil which is still on the market. In all those years, there have only been a few years where generics are available because they manage to keep renewing their 10 years of exclusivity.
So, in a normal month, I will use a 30 day supply of the medicine I take twice a day every day and I will use about 1.5 inhalers (so I have to buy two). If I bought those from a pharmacy and paid cash the inhalers would be about $65 each and the other medication is about $350 for 30 days. So about $480 per month. I can buy the exact same medicine from the exact same manufacturer from an overseas pharmacy for about $90.
Luckily, I have insurance so I only have a co-pay and can get the medicine easily. However, before Obamacare I had to pay cash for medication so I ordered it online because it was so much cheaper.
Big pharm has bought and paid for our elected leaders which likely means the prices of their drugs won't drop any time soon which means pretty much any healthcare plan short of revamping the entire thing is likely doomed to faile.
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