On June 1, the Commonwealth Fund released a brief examining prescription drug access, affordability, and cost in the U.S. and six other high-income countries.  The brief notes that Americans are more likely to use prescription drugs but face more financial barriers to accessing them and spend more out-of-pocket to acquire them.  The authors suggest using value-based benefit designs, reference pricing, and group purchasing to control costs and reduce financial barriers to accessing prescription drugs. 

From the report:

This issue brief contrasts prescription drug access, affordability, and costs in the United States with six other high-income countries, drawing from Commonwealth Fund sur­vey data of patient experiences as well as international spending and pricing data. The analysis reveals that Americans, particularly the relatively young and healthy, are more likely to use prescription drugs than are residents of Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, but they also experience more financial barriers in access­ing medications and spend more out-of-pocket for prescriptions. In the U.S., there are also larger income-related inequities in pharmaceutical use. Despite access barriers and disparities, spending per person in the U.S. is far higher, likely the result of paying higher prices for simi­lar medications and using a more expensive mix of drugs. The authors say that value-based benefit designs, reference pricing, and group purchasing could reduce financial barriers and keep down pharmaceutical spending.

Full report: Prescription Drug Accessibility and Affordability in the United States and Abroad (PDF | 1.5 MB) 

The Commonwealth Fund. (2010). Presctiption drug accessibility and affordability in the United States and Abroad. Morgan, S. and Kennedy, J.