| What We Pay

Americans taking prescription drugs -- even the most common, highly-prescribed drugs -- uniformly pay far more per pill than their Canadian neighbors.

Late last year, surrounded by a cadre of Republican leaders from Congress, President Bush signed into law the Medicare drug bill. The president heaped praise on the measure, calling it a reflection of the administration's priorities.

"Some older Americans spend much of their Social Security checks just on their medications. Some cut down on the dosage, to make a bottle of pills last longer. Elderly Americans should not have to live with those kinds of fears and hard choices," Bush declared. But at no point during his comments did Bush bother to mention the fundamental reason so many seniors have struggled to pay for prescription drugs: per-pill costs.

Compared to the citizens of just about every other industrialized nation, Americans pay a premium for just about every prescription they fill. And those price hikes aren't limited to the most expensive or least common drugs. MotherJones.com has reviewed the average costs for 18 frequently-precribed drugs in the U.S. and Canaada. The results: From arthritis treatments to antidepressants, hypertension medications to menopause drugs, Americans pay more.