Original subtitles

[sirens, horns honking]

[Miguel Angel Vega] These people, they belong to this

cartel La Union, and basically they control the entire city.

[sirens]

Their headquarters are in Tepito.

One of the biggest black markets in the world.

I mean anything you want,

anything at all, you can find it in Tepito.

[Mariana van Zeller] I've done dozens of stories about the

cartels in Mexico over the years.

But not long ago, my friend, journalist Miguel Angel Vega,

called me to say that he'd gained access to an emerging

black market that I had heard about,

but never been able to crack, until now.

It's not cocaine, weed or heroin.

And it's not guns.

[gunshot]

It's a potentially deadly product that's making its way

across the U.S. Border,

and may already be in your home.

Counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

Do you think we're gonna be safe?

[Miguel Angel Vega] I don't know.

I can't, I can't tell you.

They said, "Nada se mueve, nada respira, sin nuestro permiso."

[Mariana van Zeller] Wow, so nothing moves here,

nothing breathes here without our permission?

[Miguel Angel Vega] Right.

[sirens]

[Mariana van Zeller] Tepito, it's one of those places that

you can't really go in with cameras unless you know

somebody there, right?

[Miguel Angel Vega] Right, 'cause they have people all

over the place, like, lookouts and you never know who

they are, it can be anybody.

[Mariana van Zeller] I've worked with Miguel many times

over the last decade, but I've never seen him this nervous.

You have been spending a lot of time here, making contact, yeah?

[Miguel Angel Vega] It's been very difficult.

We finally were able to speak with one of the people that

belong to La Union.

He said, "First of all, I want to talk to Mariana,

because sometimes they are cops."

They believe you're a cop.

[Mariana van Zeller] Of course. Always.

And that's what's happening right now?

[Miguel Angel Vega] We're meeting the buyer, right.

- Right now. - We're going there.

Okay. Here is the place.

[Mariana van Zeller] Yeah. Are you gonna call him?

[Miguel Angel Vega] Yeah, I need to call them.

[phone ringing]

[speaking Spanish].

[Miguel Angel Vega] Okay.

[engine revving]

[Mariana van Zeller] La Union, the cartel we're waiting to

meet has a notorious reputation for violence.

And a newfound interest in the

troubled American healthcare system.

[Reporter] The next time you go to the drug store,

you might be in for sticker shock.

[Reporter] Medical bills across the U.S. are extremely high.

[Reporter] Drug companies have quietly raised the price on

hundreds of medications.

[Mariana van Zeller] Americans pay more for prescription meds

than people in most other countries.

While price trends have been decreasing around the world in

recent years, in the U.S., they've soared.

[Woman] $600 for one month's supply of insulin.

[Woman] $8,591.

[Man] It's how much?

[Woman] $18,000.

[Man] That's so outrageous!

[Woman] His prescription, it was $1,000.

I now have to go in and tell my 9-year-old son,

"I couldn't pay for it."

[Erin Fuse Brown] The difference between the U.S. healthcare

system and basically every other developed countries'

healthcare system, is in the U.S.,

a bad diagnosis might mean bankruptcy.

But in these other countries,

there is a government body that can step in,

and negotiate, or regulate maximum prices.

In the United States, the government cannot step in

to regulate what the outer limit is.

So pharmaceutical companies can charge whatever

the market will bear.

[Mariana van Zeller] As American healthcare and insurance

companies rake in billions of dollars in record profits,

patients are struggling to

afford the medications they need.

This has opened the door to some unsavory new players

eager to cash in on the demand for cheaper prescription drugs.

And that's how I've ended up here, on a sketchy corner

in the most dangerous neighborhood in Mexico City.

- Oh, there's him. - That's him?

[Miguel Angel Vega] Oh, he's over there. Yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] Taxi?

[Mariana van Zeller] They drive around in a taxi to pretend

they're not who they are?

[Miguel Angel Vega] Taxis are, like, the biggest lookouts.

[engine revving]

[Mariana van Zeller] This is a member of La Union,

a man we'll call Señor T.

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay. Gracias.

Okay, so that was sketchy.

[Miguel Angel Vega] Yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay, that's the, that's the lookout,

do you see?

He's got a few of these, like, dirt bikes, almost,

like motorbikes with us.

So now we're following this guy.

Don't lose him, Miguelito.

[Miguel Angel Vega] I won't.

[Mariana van Zeller] We're being escorted with the

lookouts on bikes.

See?

And he even has his, uh, you see the lights on?

[Miguel Angel Vega] Yeah. Kind of escorting...

[Mariana van Zeller] Super professional, huh?

It's so crazy that this is happening in the capital,

you know? In Mexico City.

[Miguel Angel Vega] Let's get out of the car.

[dog barking]

[distant sirens]

[barking]

[Mariana van Zeller] Señor T's associate Amarillo,

not his real name, is a sicario, a hitman.

The two of them work closely to keep La Union's various

business endeavors running smoothly.

[Mariana van Zeller] As the price for legitimate medicine

goes up, the demand for cheaper alternatives grows,

and so does La Union's operation.

[Mariana van Zeller] Señor T and Amarillo agreed to try and

get me access to another part of their operation,

but it's going to take time.

So I follow the trail of their fake meds north

to the U.S. Border.

[♪ lively Mexican music]

Pharmacy, drug store, dental clinic.

Doctor's office.

Algodones is a Mexican border town

that caters to America's sick.

Everything is in English here, almost everything.

The town is home to more pharmacies, doctors, dentists,

and opticians in a concentrated area than

anywhere else in the world.

Oh, wow, and that's the border right here.

So that's the United States.

Algodones is not alone either.

At cities all along the border,

and in tourist hotspots, like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta,

Mexican pharmacies are booming.

[Kristine Schachinger] Heart, diabetes, thyroid.

[Mariana van Zeller] How many meds do you take a day?

[Kristine Schachinger] The count now is 12.

[Mariana van Zeller] 12 different medications

every single day?

[Kristine Schachinger] Yeah. Yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] Kristine Schachinger is a 55-year-old

tech-worker from Las Vegas.

Her situation is one that many Americans know all too well.

[Kristine Schachinger] And so you sit there every month,

"Can I pay this? Can I pay this?

Can I pay for the health insurance?

Can I pay for the medications?"

And so you just, you want to cry because, um, if I don't

take the meds and get the blood sugar down, I could wind

up being one of those people that loses a limb, you know?

Everything I have would kill me if I didn't have the

medications for it.

[Mariana van Zeller] Yeah, that's them right there.

After exhausting other options, Kristine has decided to follow

the path of the "medical tourists"

heading south on the hunt for affordable medication.

But what most Americans don't know is that the cartels

could be stocking the shelves.

[Mariana van Zeller] So Kristine it's your first time down here.

[Kristine Schachinger] It is my first time, yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] Kristine Schachinger has come to Mexico

in search of cheaper meds.

[Kristine Schachinger] I wanted him to teach me how to do this,

to navigate this process.

[Mariana van Zeller] Kristine's friend, Josh,

has made this trip before.

How many people do you think you've gotten medication or

brought down here?

[Josh] Oh, over the years, at least, uh, 20, 25 people.

[Mariana van Zeller] Wow.

I mean, it looks like an American pharmacy.

Essentially it sells all of the American products,

except it has a whole shelf of tequila and mezcal.

[Kristine Schachinger] Thank you.

[Mariana van Zeller] Hi! You got your meds?

[Kristine Schachinger] Hi! I did.

[Mariana van Zeller] So this lasts you a whole month?

[Kristine Schachinger] That lasts me a month, yes.

This is four months' worth.

[Mariana van Zeller] In the U.S., Kristine pays $585 for

a month's supply of this drug and that's with insurance.

Here, she just bought it her month's supply for $71.

In a way, it's sort of

life saving for you to have Mexico here.

[Kristine Schachinger] Oh, definitely, yeah.

It means that I can get a medication I couldn't get

in the United States.

[Mariana van Zeller] I guess the risk is counterfeit medication

and not knowing exactly what's in the medication.

[Kristine Schachinger] And yeah, that's why I checked with Josh.

Because I was a little concerned that I could get, like,

counterfeit medications but.

- Yeah. - He told me this pharmacy

has been here forever.

There's nothing sketchy about them.

I'm sure there's maybe others at different places that could be.

[Mariana van Zeller] I hope her meds are exactly what

she thinks they are,

produced by a legitimate pharmaceutical company.

But there's a chance they're fake,

manufactured by a cartel like La Union.

And that's the thing; we just don't know.

[Detective] We're doing a two location search warrant today.

We're hitting both 'locs' simultaneously.

[siren]

[sirens]

[Officer] So approximately two weeks ago, we got intel that

this little tiny mini-mart is selling pharmaceuticals

without a license and

it's a front for counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

[Mariana van Zeller] How close are we?

[Officer] 30 seconds out.

[radio chatter]

We're making the approach right now.

[Officer] Sheriff's department, search warrant.

Come out with your hands up.

[radio chatter]

[Officer] One more coming out.

[Mariana van Zeller] So they've handcuffed two suspects

that were inside.

[Officer] We're going to start searching.

[Mariana van Zeller] The sheriff's department, they think

they're hiding counterfeit medication.

[Officer] Oh (bleep) look at this.

[Officer] There's a false bottom?

There's some false compartments in there.

There's a huge box full of everything.

[Officer] This is good stuff.

[Mariana van Zeller] Today's raid turns up dozens of boxes

of potentially counterfeit meds.

And officers tell me that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Around the country, law enforcement has seen an

uptick in the number of seizures by air, by land, and sea,

as criminal operations attempt to smuggle fake meds

into the country.

At the L.A. Sheriff's Department headquarters,

much of the basement is now a storeroom for seized counterfeit

and illicit medicines.

So this whole box is full of pharmaceuticals?

[Officer Wong] Yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] Officer Brian Wong is a pharmacist,

who works as an expert in black market pharmaceuticals.

[Officer Wong] So, if we look here, the labeling is showing

you that it's amoxicillin and ambroxol.

So, amoxicillin is your classic antibiotic and

ambroxol is more of your expectorant to get, like,

any phlegm out from cough.

But our concern is whether or not there's actually active

pharmaceutical ingredient in here, to make sure that we're

taking care of that infection.

[Mariana van Zeller] And I'm assuming that even if there is

no toxic ingredient in there, it is dangerous anyway,

because that means that a person is not being

treated as they should.

[Officer Wong] Correct.

[Mariana van Zeller] And this is actually made in India?

- Yes. - Yeah.

So this one actually says here, it came from India.

[Officer Wong] Yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] And you guys got it here in the U.S.

[Officer Wong] Correct.

[Mariana van Zeller] That's not as unusual as it may seem.

For those Americans who aren't within reach of a MexGcan

border pharmacy, there's an even simpler way to buy meds

without a prescription.

You get a lot of results.

There are currently around 40,000 online pharmacies

operating worldwide.

And the vast majority of them are illegal.

And this one says, "A prescription is not required."

So, they're selling prescription drugs without a prescription.

And then, you could get a 10% discount if you use BitCoin.

Ordering may be easy,

finding out where these pills are actually made

is a bit trickier.

Let me see what this one is.

But buried deep on the FAQ page of one of the pharmacies

that same country pops up again.

And this one says, "The medications are manufactured

in India by an Indian state licensed company."

Both the legal and illegal side of India's pharmaceutical

industry have exploded in the last few decades,

earning it the nickname, the world's pharmacy.

[horns honking]

[screeching]

[♪ upbeat Indian music]

[honking]

[Mariana van Zeller] Oh, wow.

You see this?

I mean, both sides of the street, these are all little

pharmacies, and there's dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of

these little streets all over this neighborhood.

And it's all basically pharmacies.

And all of these boxes that you see are all full of meds, too,

that they're distributing around to these pharmacists.

It's truly incredible.

I've never seen a place like this in my life.

35% of all counterfeit meds originate in India.

I want to see how they're made and distributed here,

in the biggest pharmaceutical black market in the world.

[honking]

Through a local contact, I connect with a man who says

he's a distributor of fake meds.

And apparently, he's willing to talk.

[Mariana van Zeller] Alpha.

You want me to call you Alpha, right?

[Alpha] Yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] How long have you been in the

pharmaceutical world?

[Mariana van Zeller] From what we've been told, "Alpha" is a

distributor of fake medicine.

What is your role in this business?

- The fake medication? - No, no.

- 101%. - Okay, okay.

Um, but, do you think, do you know people who are working in

the informal markets?

[Mariana van Zeller] We know Alpha's not telling the truth,

because just an hour before this interview, he'd shown our

local producer a video of a truck full of fake medication

that he was looking to sell.

So I try a different tack.

If I wanted to see some of the manufacturing, which area of

India do you think I should go through?

[Mariana van Zeller] Here in Delhi?

Or is it in other parts of India?

[Alpha] No, not in Delhi.

[Mariana van Zeller] Up north?

[Mariana van Zeller] Little factories.

[Mariana van Zeller] So we've come all the way from the

United States to meet people who are involved in the

counterfeit business.

Do you know anyone that you could put us in touch with?

- No? - No.

[Mariana van Zeller] Alpha is getting more and more nervous.

[Mariana van Zeller] He thinks the people over there are

listening, the guy left already.

So can you tell me how you know so much about this

counterfeit medication business?

[Mariana van Zeller] Um, I think he just got cold feet

and got nervous.

The cameras, you know, the fact that we're on a rooftop

and there's possibly people looking, or listening.

So now we have our local producers there talking to him

trying to understand what's the matter and why did he

change his mind.

It's incredibly frustrating, um, oh, he's here.

Um, so, you're okay?

Okay.

So I think he's willing...

Are you willing to talk to us? You can look to me.

[Mariana van Zeller] So you can arrange for me some connections.

[Alpha] Yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] So you know a little bit about the

business, you know people?

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay. So you're not in the business?

[Alpha] No, I'm not. I am not.

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay. Okay. Thank you.

Again, frustrating, but small steps.

[♪ mysterious music]

[honking]

Oh, my God.

We're just arriving in this town,

at the foot of the Himalayas.

We've actually been asked not to say the name of the town

and we're driving more and more, in sort of, to these

remote areas of this region.

[cows moo]

Alpha has texted me a time and a location where I'm to wait

for a call from an illegal pill manufacturer

he's calling "Amir".

As night falls,

the paved roads give way to narrow cobbled lanes.

And then...

Amir arrives.

He's on edge.

And asks us to keep the cameras off.

He doesn't want anyone from our crew to know exactly where

his place is.

So he insists we go with him, in his van.

And finally, after a long, disorienting drive.

Rolling?

- Uh-hmm. - Yeah, all good?

He tells us to follow him to the back of an old rundown building.

Wow, this is the machine, huh?

[Amir] Yes, yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] Can I see?

How many pills do you make in one night?

[speaking native language].

[Mariana van Zeller] 25,000 pills?

[Amir] Yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] Wow.

So what is this?

[Mariana van Zeller] What is the name of the pills?

[Mariana van Zeller] Oh, it's amoxicillin.

So that's an antibiotic that you have to be prescribed.

We travel with amoxicillin.

Amoxicillin is an antibiotic used to treat a number of

common bacterial infections,

like strep throat, pneumonia and ear infections.

Can I, can I take a pill to see?

- Okay. - Yes, yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] It's really powdery.

And is it, is it actually amoxicillin?

Does it have the active ingredients?

[Mariana van Zeller] No?

[Mariana van Zeller] So, you say it's amoxicillin, but what

is actually, what's the powder?

What is actually in it?

[Amir] Calcium.

- This is calcium? - Yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] But you're selling it off as if

it's an antibiotic?

[Amir] Mm-hmm.

[Mariana van Zeller] Where, is it easy to buy?

You can buy the powder?

[Mariana van Zeller] And can you make the color?

Can you make whatever color you want?

[Mariana van Zeller] Is it just dye or what's the color made?

[Amir] Food coloring.

- Food coloring. - Uh-hmm.

[Mariana van Zeller] Oh, wow.

So you use food coloring and you can make any pill look

whatever color you want and then you sell it as if it's

the real thing?

Whoa, that is crazy.

You know, there's a lot of people that have been harmed.

There's even people who have died because of fake medication.

Do you feel bad?

[Mariana] Do you ever think maybe you should stop doing it?

[Mariana van Zeller] Why did you start doing this?

Were you working in a legal manufacturing facility?

[Mariana van Zeller] So you used to work in a factory and

then you learned how to make pills.

Do you make more money now than you did when you were

working in the factory?

[Mariana] Do you sell it to a pharmacy or a distributor?

[Mariana van Zeller] Are they staying here in India or are

they going abroad to other countries?

[Mariana van Zeller] Do you think that these could

end up in America?

[Mariana van Zeller] With no oversight or testing,

rogue manufacturers like Amir can put whatever they want into

their products, on sloppy and unsanitary production lines.

Fake medicines have been found to contain everything from

mercury and cement, to arsenic and rat poison.

And that can have devastating consequences.

[Reporter] Four Indian-made cough and cold medicines could

be linked to the death of 66 children in the Gambia.

[Mariana van Zeller] Only days after we returned to the U.S.,

news breaks that contaminated Indian cough syrup is behind

an outbreak of pediatric kidney failure, leading to the

death of 70 children.

[Reporter] Basically stuff that's in antifreeze and

air conditioning are in these medicines and they should

never be.

[Mariana van Zeller] Scientists estimate that over

250,000 children die each year

from malaria and pneumonia

left untreated by fake or substandard drugs.

I've seen how it can happen in India.

And I've just gotten the invite to go inside a lab

of a Mexican cartel.

[♪ funky electronic music]

[horns honking]

[Mariana van Zeller] I'm back in Mexico City to meet up with

the cartel, La Union.

They're finally ready to give us more access to their operation.

[Mariana van Zeller] La Union has granted me a meeting with

"Dr. Loco", one of the cartel's chemists, who also runs

his own legal medical practice here in Mexico City.

[Mariana van Zeller] He rattles off a list of drugs he produces,

including antibiotics, painkillers and

some very popular brand name pharmaceuticals.

[Mariana van Zeller] Hmm.

[Mariana van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

[Dr Loco] Si.

[Mariana van Zeller] Starch. Oh, starch. Wow.

[Mariana van Zeller] Dr. Loco tells me that every day in

labs and factories all over Mexico, fake pills like these

are being made by the thousands.

He provides "quality control," making sure that every pill

and package looks exactly like the real deal.

Wow, it has the, it actually has the little cotton inside

to make it look really real.

[Mariana van Zeller] The attention to detail makes me

think again about Kristine and

whether she's actually getting what she needs.

[Mariana van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

[tapping]

[Mariana van Zeller] One part of the business that I'm still

unclear about is how these

counterfeit meds make it to market?

How and where are they sold?

So the cartel has told me to wait here,

at the Santa Muerte shrine.

Santa Muerte or the saint of death, is a popular figure in

Mexico worshiped by many

in the world of drug trafficking and crime.

[horns honking]

[in Spanish] Hello, how are you? I'm good.

Inside?

[in English] It's a fitting spot to meet, since

I'm heading out on a sales call with a hitman.

[♪ fast rock music]

[Mariana van Zeller] I'm riding shotgun with Amarillo,

one of the members of La Union that I met on my previous trip.

[Mariana van Zeller] Wow, he's even stopping the traffic for us

[Amarillo] Uno, dos, tres...

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay. [in Spanish] I hear you.

[in English] Okay.

Amarillo doesn't want our cameras following him,

but he's agreed to keep his microphone on

so I can listen in.

Okay, so yeah, I can see the pharmacy.

And we're not allowed to film it, but it's a corner pharmacy.

Okay, he's inside, he just walked inside,

there's a couple of other people inside.

[speaking Spanish].

[Mariana van Zeller] "Hola Señora" He said. Good afternoon.

[Mariana van Zeller] Holy (bleep).

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay, and he's coming back.

[Mariana van Zeller] Uh-hmm. Okay.

So this is how La Union distributes their fake meds.

They force pharmacies to carry them.

[Mariana van Zeller] Desperate patients, ruthless suppliers,

I could feel a perfect storm brewing.

[Reporter] A new investigation by the LA Times has found that

pharmacies in several Mexican cities are selling counterfeit

prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine.

[Mariana van Zeller] This news story broke just a few weeks

after we returned from Mexico.

[Reporter] 71% of 17 pills it tested came back positive

for illegal drugs.

[Mariana van Zeller] After all I've seen on this journey,

the news is hardly surprising.

The cartels are doing what they do best,

making easy, ugly money.

And with fake prescription drugs, much of their product

doesn't even have to cross the border,

because American patients are so desperate,

they're often willing to come to Mexico.

Do I think the cartels are greedy and ruthless

for putting the lives of vulnerable patients at risk?

You bet.

But we also need to look in the mirror and ask some

tough questions about what's happening right here at home.

That's why I've traveled to the nation's capital,

to confront an industry that often seems more concerned

with profits than patients.

[Anne Pritchett] When you are purchasing a

counterfeit medicine, you're playing Russian roulette.

It could be paint thinner, it could be antifreeze,

it could be rat poison, it could be fentanyl,

which as we all know at this point is deadly,

you just never know.

[Mariana van Zeller] I'm in Washington DC to meet with

Anne Pritchett,

Senior Vice President of Policy and Research

at the trade group PhRMA.

PhRMA represents the nation's leading pharmaceutical

companies, most of which have seen their products

counterfeited by criminal organizations.

[Anne Pritchett] It is 10 times more profitable to be

selling counterfeit medicines

than it is to be trafficking in heroin.

[Mariana van Zeller] The groups' members work with

law enforcement agencies across the country to keep fake meds

out of the hands of Americans.

But there's a certain irony here, the fact that big pharma

plays a major role in making medications unaffordable

is actually helping to create this black market.

[Man] Washington is talking about price setting

some medicines, but it won't stop insurers from shifting

costs to you.

[Mariana van Zeller] In 2022 alone, PhRMA spent

$29.2 million more than any other lobbying group.

Much of it to combat the inflation reduction act and

the efforts to set limits on drug prices.

What we've heard again and again from Americans that

we've spoken to, is the reason why we're risking our lives

and going to places like Mexico and India is because

we cannot afford the medication in the United States.

Why is it that Americans are paying more for their meds

than anyone else in the world?

[Anne Pritchett] I think it's just comparing

apples and oranges.

And do think that, you know, in America,

we want to and we feel that patient choice and prescriber

choice is very important, and that patients should have

access to the best innovation that there is.

The U.S. is a world leader in biopharmaceutical R&D.

[Mariana van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

[Anne Pritchett] It's a system that's worked, we think.

[Mariana van Zeller] Have you spent time talking to some of

these Americans that can't afford their medication?

[Anne Pritchett] Not me personally, no.

[Mariana van Zeller] I'm, I'm not being, I'm not being smart.

I'm actually interested, because I've spent time

talking to some of them and

it's really heartbreaking stories.

[Anne Pritchett] Uh-hmm.

[Mariana van Zeller] And I understand that it's a

profit-driven industry,

but I do, therefore, think it's a conflict of interest

and there should be somebody advocating for Americans.

And that doesn't seem to be the case right now.

[Anne Pritchett] I wouldn't call it a conflict of interest

when we're making lifesaving medicines available--

[Mariana van Zeller] But if it's not affordable,

the medication isn't doing anything.

[Anne Pritchett] Again, I do think though, this is why

we have an insurance system that isn't working,

when the insurance industry continues to increase

co-insurance and out-of-pocket costs for patients while they

continue to pocket substantial rebates and discounts.

So I think to just say, "It's industry's fault for having

high list prices," isn't a valid argument.

[Mariana van Zeller] I'm not saying it's just an industry.

I think the system is broken, and I think it has worked in

other countries limiting the price of drugs by having the

government interfere.

[Anne Pritchett] And limiting the availability of drugs and

limiting access to medicines.

And that's not what Americans want.

[Mariana van Zeller] What I go back to is that the medication

only works if people can afford it.

PhRMA is quick to blame insurance companies, middlemen

and politicians for America's failing healthcare system.

But the argument that their record profits are used to

fund research and development doesn't line up with the

latest numbers.

In 2021,

seven of the ten biggest pharmaceutical companies

spent 37% more on sales and marketing than

they did on research and development.

And 10 companies made $102 billion in profits

that same year, a 137% increase from 2020.

[Erin Fuse Brown] The American healthcare system is built to

benefit the corporations and industries that have grown up

to make money in the healthcare system.

I think that there is a moral sense that the amount that

pharmaceutical companies are starting to charge

is unconscionable.

[Mariana van Zeller] Josh, what do you think of America's

healthcare system?

[Josh] I think it's broken.

When, you know, the richest country in the world,

its citizens can't afford the medications that they need and

have to come down to what a lot of Americans consider

a very poor country.

[Mariana van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

[Josh] To be able to actually get their medications.

[Mariana van Zeller] Right.

[Kristine Schachinger] I didn't do anything to get all these

illnesses, all of these are genetic.

Most started in my teens and 20s.

[Mariana van Zeller] Mm-hmm.

[Kristine Schachinger] So, you know, we've gotta stop, like,

blaming people and we have to stop treating it like.

It's on them, because the system has made it so hard

to get healthy and stay well.

[Mariana van Zeller] Mm-hmm.

As long as America prioritizes the profits of big pharma over

the wellbeing of our citizens, we are complicit in filling

the pockets of the cartels and black market operators

who are getting rich off of our broken system.

Captioned by Cotter Media Group.