Generic Drug Prices: Why Americans Pay Less Than Europeans

It’s a counterintuitive truth: generic drug prices in the United States are often lower than in Europe-even though Americans pay far more for brand-name drugs. If you’ve ever been shocked by the $4 price tag for generic lisinopril at Walmart, only to hear someone in Germany say they paid €15 for the same pill, you’re not imagining things. The data backs it up. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that Americans paid, on average, 33% less for unbranded generics than residents of 33 other OECD countries. Meanwhile, the same report showed the U.S. paid over 4 times more for brand-name drugs than most of Europe.

Why Are Generic Drugs Cheaper in the U.S.?

The answer isn’t about better manufacturing or cheaper labor. It’s about competition-and how broken the system is in Europe.

In the U.S., generic drugs make up about 90% of all prescriptions filled. That’s not an accident. Once a patent expires, dozens of companies rush to make the same drug. Teva, Mylan, Sandoz, and others compete fiercely. They don’t just undercut each other-they undercut manufacturing costs. Some generics are sold below cost just to keep shelf space. This creates a race to the bottom, and consumers win.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) amplify this. These middlemen negotiate bulk discounts with drugmakers and pharmacies. They don’t always pass savings to patients, but they do pressure manufacturers to slash prices. The result? A monthly supply of generic metformin can cost $0-$10 with insurance, sometimes even less without it.

Europe doesn’t have this. Generic drug use is only around 41% of prescriptions. Why? Because many countries restrict substitution. In France, a pharmacist can’t swap a brand-name drug for a generic without the doctor’s okay. In Germany, pharmacists can substitute-but the system doesn’t reward them for doing it. There’s no financial incentive to push cheaper options. So, patients get the brand, even when the generic is identical.

How Europe Sets Drug Prices

European countries don’t let the market decide. Governments do.

In Germany, France, and the UK, price regulators set what a drug can cost. They don’t look at what it costs to make. They look at whether it’s worth the price. The UK’s NICE evaluates if a drug offers enough health benefit to justify its cost. If not, it’s denied coverage. Other countries use reference pricing: they look at what other nations pay and set their own price below that.

This keeps brand-name drug prices low-but it also kills competition for generics. Why would a company invest in making a generic if the government will cap the price so low that there’s no profit? The result: fewer manufacturers enter the market. Less competition means higher prices for consumers.

Compare that to the U.S., where the same generic drug can be made by 15 different companies. Even if one shuts down, another steps in. In Europe, if two manufacturers exit a market, the remaining one can raise prices without fear.

The Brand-Name Paradox

Here’s where things get strange. The U.S. pays the most for new, patented drugs. A 2024 Health System Tracker analysis found that Medicare’s negotiated price for Jardiance was $204 per month-nearly four times what it costs in the UK, Germany, or Japan. Stelara? $4,490 in the U.S. versus $2,822 elsewhere.

Why? Because the U.S. is the world’s biggest payer for innovation. About two-thirds of global pharmaceutical R&D is funded by American consumers and insurers. Drugmakers know they can charge more here, so they do. Europe, Canada, and Australia benefit from those high prices-they pay less because they negotiate hard, but they still get the drugs developed in the U.S.

That’s why experts call it “free riding.” The U.S. shoulders the cost of discovery. Everyone else gets the benefit. Dana Goldman from the University of Southern California put it plainly: “Europe negotiates prices as low as they can without regard to the cost of innovation.”

What Happens When Prices Go Too Low?

The U.S. generic market isn’t perfect. Sometimes, it works too well.

When competition drives prices below what it costs to produce a drug, manufacturers quit. In 2021, a generic version of a common heart medication disappeared because no one could make it profitably. Then, one company bought up the remaining production capacity-and raised the price 1,000% overnight.

This isn’t rare. The FDA reports that generic drug shortages have more than doubled since 2015. Most are caused by low prices, not supply chain issues. When profit margins vanish, companies leave. And when only one or two are left, they control the market.

Europe doesn’t have this problem-because prices never drop that low. But it has another: limited access. If no one makes a generic because the price is too low, patients in Europe still pay more for the brand. In the U.S., they might get it for free-or not at all.

What’s Changing in 2025?

The Inflation Reduction Act is the biggest shift in U.S. drug pricing in decades. For the first time, Medicare can negotiate prices for a handful of expensive brand-name drugs. The first 10 drugs selected include Jardiance, Stelara, and others. Their negotiated prices are still higher than in Europe-but they’re down 25-40% from what they were.

That’s putting pressure on drugmakers. If Medicare can force down prices on top-selling drugs, why can’t private insurers? Some PBMs are already following suit.

Meanwhile, Europe is watching. The European Commission’s 2025 pharmaceutical strategy admits that current pricing models may threaten access to new drugs. If U.S. prices fall, companies might raise prices elsewhere to make up the difference. That’s what Alexander Natz of EUCOPE warned about: if the U.S. caps prices, manufacturers will hike them in Germany or France.

And then there’s the political threat. Former President Trump’s proposed “most favored nation” rule would force the U.S. to pay the same price as the lowest-paying OECD country. If enacted, it could slash U.S. brand-name drug costs-but at the cost of global R&D funding.

What This Means for You

If you’re in the U.S. and take generics: you’re getting a deal. Most are dirt cheap. Use your pharmacy’s $4 list. Ask for generics. Switch when you can.

If you’re in Europe and frustrated by high prices: you’re not alone. But you’re also not paying for innovation. The U.S. system is messy, unfair, and sometimes broken-but it’s the engine that keeps new drugs coming.

For global health, this isn’t sustainable. The U.S. can’t keep paying 4 times more for brand-name drugs forever. Europe can’t keep paying so little forever either. Somewhere in between, there’s a balance. But right now, the system works like this: Americans pay less for old drugs, and way more for new ones. Everyone else pays less for everything.

It’s not fair. But it’s how it is.