- 11 November 2025
- Posted by: Competere
- Categories: Empowering Consumers-HLP, highlights, Media, News
Why America should not copy Europe‘s Healthcare SystemBY PIETRO PAGANINI
Real Clear Health, one of the most respected U.S. outlets on healthcare and policy, has published Pietro Paganini’s commentary, in which he argues why the United States should avoid replicating Europe’s healthcare mistakes, especially drug price controls that delay innovation and access to treatments.
Read the full article on Real Clear Health or a summary below
Why price controls hurt patients
When Americans visit Italy, they love the food, culture, and lifestyle. But nobody praises our healthcare system. Why? Because, like much of Europe, it is government-run, and it rations care to contain spending. Patients often face long waits, sometimes too long.
Yet U.S. policymakers on both sides of the aisle are trying to import one of Europe’s most destructive features: strict drug price controls. These create the illusion of protection but, in practice, mean fewer treatments and delayed access to life-saving medicines.
The innovation gap
In Europe, new drugs arrive on average one year later than in the U.S. – and often not at all. Between 2012 and 2021, Italian patients had access to only 44% of newly approved medicines. American patients had access to 85%. For cancer or chronic conditions, that delay can be fatal.
Price controls also suffocate innovation. In the 1970s, Europe led global drug discovery. Today, American firms drive 60% of R&D, while Europe has dropped to 30%.
What America risks
If the U.S. adopts Europe’s system, patients will face slower, less personalized care. The country would lose research jobs and investment, while increasing dependency on China for drug production and development.
America’s strength lies in speed, innovation, and freedom of choice. That must not be sacrificed.
As he wrote in Real Clear Health: “Copy our recipes and lifestyle, but not our healthcare system.”