It’s true - several brand name drug companies have already increased prices this year. AARP’s Public Policy Institute recently examined list price changes for the 100 brand name drugs with the highest total Medicare Part D spending in 2020, and what they found is not ideal news for consumers.
Some key findings from the analysis include:
- 75 of the 100 brand name drugs increased their list price between the end of December 2021 and the end of January 2022
- 0 of the 100 brand name drugs decreased their list price during this period
- Among the 75 brand name drugs with list price increases, the average list price increase was 5.2% and more than half experienced an increase of 5.0% or more
- These 75 brand name drugs represented $93.2 billion in total Medicare Part D spending in 2020
- More than 19 million Part D enrollees use at least one of these 75 brand name drugs
There is some potential good news. Congress is considering legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies, and would discourage price increases that are greater than inflation.
To view the complete analysis by AARP’s Public Policy Institute, visit https://blog.aarp.org/thinking-policy/prices-for-most-top-medicare-part-d-drugs-have-already-increased-in-2022.