28 September 2015 - The International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP) today released its 2013 Comparative Price Report, detailing its annual survey of medical prices per unit. Designed to showcase the variation in healthcare prices around the world, the report examines the price of medical procedures, tests, scans and treatments in nine countries. This year the survey also shows pricing for five specialty prescription drugs. As in prior years, the survey data shows that the United States continues to have the highest fees of those countries surveyed for drugs and various medical procedures.

Some of the larger disparities were in prescription and specialty drugs prices. For example, the price for the cancer drug Gleevec ranged from $989 in New Zealand to $6,214, the average price paid in the United States. The price paid for the drug Copaxone ranged from $862 in England to $3,903 in the United States.

Other more common drugs such as Cymbalta, commonly prescribed for depression, cost less than $100 in Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands and England. Cymbalta cost an average of $110 in Canada and $194 in the United States. Similarly, a drug prescribed for acid reflux averages from $33 in the Netherlands to $215 in the United States.

For more details, go to: http://www.ifhp.com/1404121