America's Healthcare Price War Could Have Unlikely Winners
For as long as I can remember, the American healthcare system has operated on a logic that would make a bookie blush. It’s a place where prices are often suggestions and the biggest customer, the government itself, has traditionally paid the asking price with a polite smile. Well, it seems the smile has finally vanished. For the first time, Medicare, the state-run health programme for the elderly, has successfully strong-armed pharmaceutical giants into negotiating lower prices for some of their most expensive drugs.
To me, this isn’t just some dry policy update from across the pond. It’s a seismic shift in the balance of power. Think about it. When a customer that big, with 65 million people on its books, finally decides to haggle, the entire marketplace has to listen. While the headlines focus on the blow to Big Pharma, the truly interesting question for an investor is, where does all that saved money go?