New reports shed light on key facts about medicines and affordability
A recently released report by IQVIA provides new data showing prices for brand medicines went down last year.
A recently released report by IQVIA provides new data showing prices for brand medicines went down last year.
A recently released report by IQVIA – an independent organization specializing in health care research – provides new data showing prices for brand medicines went down last year. The report offers important facts to keep in mind as policymakers look to make health care more affordable. According to the report:
This is the latest report to show that despite the rhetoric around “skyrocketing drug prices,” the facts tell a different story. For example, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently released a report recapping data that shows spending for medicines remains a small and stable share of all health spending the United States:
Even though spending and prices for prescription medicines remain stable, it doesn’t always feel that way for some patients. That’s because of a broken health insurance system that is increasingly shifting the cost of care onto vulnerable patients.
As the CRS report found, insurance plans have been “imposing higher levels of cost sharing” which creates “greater financial burden” for certain patients. And these shifting costs can lead to harmful consequences for patients. As IQVIA notes, 56% of all prescriptions that cost patients more than $500 out of pocket were abandoned at the pharmacy.
These facts demonstrate the need for pragmatic solutions that will help end perverse incentives in the system that disadvantage patients who need help. Partisan bills that threaten access to life-saving medicines and future innovation are not the answer.
That’s why we’ve put forward a better way that will lower costs for patients while protecting patient access and the future development of new cures and treatments. Learn more here.