A good news/bad news report for consumers: Pharmaceutical companies are not raising the list prices of existing prescription medications as often as they used to.
That’s the good news.
Here’s the flip side: As new drugs come to the market, more have huge price tags attached. In fact, Axios reported on a new study that finds the median monthly price of a new, brand-name drug jumped 381 percent since 2006, from $150 to $722.
An analysis from the drug research firm 46brooklyn, also finds:
- Higher starting prices for brand-name drugs also leads to higher starting prices for their generic versions.
- The median monthly price of a new generic drug has increased 712 percent since 2006, from $100 to almost $800.
- Nearly 8 in 10 of all generic drugs studied showed no decrease in their average wholesale price over the past five years.
This latest study simply underscores what many consumers tell Voices for Affordable Health. What about you? Have your prescription medication costs taken a leap in recent years? Share your story with us.