What exactly is this in response to? Like the article goes over all the failings of the US healthcare system that anyone who's paying attention is well aware of, but to what end? Who was saying that Australia had anything to do with the US's healthcare system?

[–] butters@aussie.zone 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

There’s a good explainer article here: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/22/us-pharma-trump-australia-pbs-explainer

It all came up in the tariff negotiations - the PBS in Australia means US drug companies don’t make enough money and/or US citizens are paying more for drugs than Australians.

Big pharma in the US claims Australians aren’t paying enough for medicines, considering the billions they pour into research and development, and there are too many delays in getting drug approvals.

PhRMA has asked the Trump administration to put Australia on a “watch list” and wants it to push for change, saying Australia has set the bar too high on cost effectiveness. Australia’s price reductions and “restrictive subsidy caps” meant prices were too low to support investment in innovation, it claims. There are also too many delays in approval processes, it says, adding that the PBS continues to list generic products without the patent owner’s consent.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 7 points 1 day ago

The official diplomatic response to US requests along these lines better be loud laughter