Drug prices soar nearly 40% over past decade, surpassing inflation, study shows
T༺he cost of prescription drugs in the US has soared nearly 40% over the past decade, surpassing the rate of inflati🃏on during the same span, according to a new study.
While price increases have slowed this year — after spiking 37% since 2014 — the higher costs continue to raise out-of-pocket expenses for consumers,
The avera🔴ge Americ💙an spends $16.26 out of pocket per prescription, according to GoodRx data, which was first .
“For most Americans, the difficulty🐷 with affordable medicat🔜ions isn’t over the ones that cost thousands of dollars,” Tori Marsh, director of GoodRx research, said in a published study. “It’s about affording routine drugs for chronic conditions, and finding that their insurance doesn’t cover what it used to.”
As Americans shoulder the burden of prescription costs, they face higher copays, coinsurance and deductibles, acc🌳ording to GoodRx.
The average deductible, for example, has nearly doubled from $917 to $1,644 o🌞ver the past decade, according to🐻 GoodRx.
Meanwhile, inflation has jumped 32.5% since 2014.
As insurance cover🌄age becomes more restrictive, the burden of costs is delegated to the consumer – and these restrictions are multifaceted, Marsh said.
Around 54% of 🧜drugs are covered by insurance, 50% of drugs have an insurance restriction and 25% of Americans have at least one prescription not covered by insurance, according to GoodRx.
“It’s really kind of a threefold problem: high costs, more restrictions and more friction as well…so that’s like people navigating hurdles to access their medication,” Marsh told t💎he Post.
She said hurdles include ease of pharmacy access — 41 million Americans lack proper access to a pharmacy, according to GoodRx.
Marsh called this growth in restrictions the “big pinch” as iജnsurance steadily covers less and less while need remains.
The amount of medications cover💜ed by insurance from a GoodRx study of more than 3,700 Medicare Part D plans from 2010 to 2024 fell by 19%.
“Despite various efforts by policymakers and pharmaceutical manufacturers to combat rising drug 🦩prices, the cost of medications remains a significant burden for many Americans,” Marsh said in the published study. “Legislative attempts to cap insulin prices and manufacturer programs to provide discounts on expensive therapies have not led to a substantial decrease in overall drug costs.”
President Biden has focused heavily on drug prices, especially with the appr🦩oach of this year’s ဣelection.
During Thursday night’s debate, Biden claimed his administration “brought d♑own the price of prescription drugs” and lowered insulin shots to $15.
NBC , as well as the rest of Biden and former president D🔯onald Trump’s remarks that night, and reported that Biden actually capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month under Medicare.
Previously, the president signed into law the , both of which aimed to lower prescription drug costs and heal🌊th insurance premi✃ums.
According to the White Hꦑouse, “more America💮ns have health insurance than under any other President, and are better protected against surprise medical bills and junk fees.”
In his lates♔t attempt to combat rising prescription costs, the Biden administration said Wednesday it would on 64 prescription drugs for the third quarter of thi🍸s year to lower costs for some senior Americans enrolled in Medicare, according to NBC.
Despite efforts, high prescription costs seem to be a uniquely American problem — on average than consumers in other developed countries for prescription drugs, according to the White House.
And unfortunately, there doღes not seem to be a clear 🅷solution.
“I wish I had the answer,” Marsh told the Post. “It’s such a systemic problem. It’s not just prices. It’s not just insurance. It’s not just access. It’s kind of everything in combination.”
