The cost of prescription drugs in the US has soared nearly 40% over the past decade, surpassing the rate of inflation during the same span, according to a new study.
While price increases have slowed this year — after spiking 37% spike since 2014 — the higher costs continue to raise out-of-pocket expenses for consumers, data from drug savings company GoodRx found.
The average American spends $16.26 out of pocket per prescription, according to GoodRx data, which was first reported by CNBC.
“For most Americans, the difficulty with affordable medications 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, according to GoodRx.
The average deductible, for example, has nearly doubled from $917 to $1,644 over the past decade, according to GoodRx.
Meanwhile, inflation has jumped 32.5% since 2014.
As insurance coverage 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 the 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 insurance steadily covers less and less while need remains.
The amount of medications covered 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 approach of this year’s election.
During Thursday night’s debate, Biden claimed his administration “brought down the price of prescription drugs” and lowered insulin shots to $15.
NBC fact-checked this statement, as well as the rest of Biden and former president Donald 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 American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, both of which aimed to lower prescription drug costs and health insurance premiums.
According to the White House, “more Americans have health insurance than under any other President, and are better protected against surprise medical bills and junk fees.”
In his latest attempt to combat rising prescription costs, the Biden administration said Wednesday it would impose inflation penalties on 64 prescription drugs for the third quarter of this 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 — Americans pay two to three times more on average than consumers in other developed countries for prescription drugs, according to the White House.
And unfortunately, there does 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.”
