Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy Wednesday reacted to a viral social media post that involved Luigi Mangione, the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The brazen murder has raised a major debate as the suspected killer was probably driven by his hatred against the health insurance company. The manifesto found on Luigi Mangione at the time of his arrest detailed his disappointment with the US healthcare system. “Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy,” Mangione wrote.
A post by Jeremy Kauffman questioned the claim and refused to accept that US healthcare is the most expensive.
Vivek Ramaswamy replied to that and explained that prescription drugs cost more in the US than in European countries because Europe “free rides on us”. Most life-saving medicines, Ramaswamy explained, are developed and then approved in the US. But then the company has the incentive to make it available in Europe at a low marginal cost, he said.
“A big reason why prescription drugs cost more in the U.S. than other developed nations is that the U.S. subsidizes innovation, while Europe free-rides on us. Here’s how it works: most life-saving medicines wouldn’t be developed unless U.S payers reimburse to compensate for risk & cost of development. Yet once it’s already approved in the U.S., the company has an incentive to make it available in Europe at a low marginal cost, even though the fixed cost of initial development was high. That’s how Europe arbitrages the U.S. by accessing the same medicines at lower cost. The details actually matter,” Ramaswamy wrote.
It is yet to be investigated why Luigi Mangione held a specific grudge against UnitedHealthcare while his wealthy Baltimore family has had a long association with several hospitals and other units if the healthcare system. Mangione reportedly suffered from a spine injury which altered his life for worse but it is not yet known whether UnitedHealthcare was part of his insurance.
