--- title: Here's More Proof Health Care in America Is a Total Ripoff description: A new International Federation of Health Plans study shows Americans routinely pay more for prescription drugs and health care procedures. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2016-07-19T14:57:33.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T02:54:58.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - Drugs - Health Care - health care costs - prescription drugs - pubdesk word_count: 386 canonical: https://money.com/health-care-costs-in-america-ripoff/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Cost of healthcare](https://img.money.com/2016/05/health-care-costs-money-stethoscope.jpg) This probably sounds like a broken record—only it's far more annoying, because this oft-repeated message is a reminder that you are getting ripped off compared to virtually everywhere else on the planet: Prescription drugs, and health care in general, cost far more in the U.S. than other countries providing the same level of care. And [why do prescription medications cost more](https://money.com/prescription-drug-prices-increase-why/) in America? The short answer is that there are [few forces stopping Big Pharma](https://money.com/high-prescription-drug-prices-facts/) from charging steep prices. According to a new study comparing health care systems around the globe from the [International Federation of Health Plans](http://www.ifhp.com/1607210) (IFHP), Americans routinely pay a large premium for prescriptions, surgeries, and other health care services. The report presents further credence to the idea that Americans are basically [subsidizing cheaper prices](https://money.com/prescription-drug-prices-america/) charged for drugs in other parts of the world. “We look at these numbers every year and it’s always a shocking demonstration of how much procedures and prescription drugs actually cost,” IFHP chief executive Tom Sackville said in a press release accompanying the new study. “There is no reason why identical procedures and products should vary in price so much across countries: it illustrates the damaging effects of an inadequately regulated healthcare market.” The study compares drug prices in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK, and the U.S., and what it shows is that American health insurance companies regularly pay two, three, even four times as much as other countries for medications such as Avastin, Tecfidera, Xarelto, and Humira, to name a few. For instance, the price for a 30-day supply of Tecfidera, used to treat multiple sclerosis, averages over $5,000 in the U.S., versus $1,855 in Switzerland and only $663 in the United Kingdom. Common health care procedures such as MRIs, appendectomies, and baby deliveries are also much more expensive in the U.S. The average baby delivery runs nearly $11,000 in the U.S., compared to under $2,000 in South Africa or Spain. The cost of angioplasty averages $31,620 in the U.S., nearly three times as much as the next most expensive country, New Zealand ($13,677). ***Read Next:* [21 Incredibly Disturbing Facts About High Prescription Drug Prices](https://money.com/high-prescription-drug-prices-facts/)** "Your whole competition structure doesn't seem to apply in health care," Sackville said, speaking about the U.S. system to [CNBC](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/19/us-often-pays-much-more-than-other-countries-for-prescription-drugs-surgery.html). 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