Prescription Drugs

Effective January 1, 2023, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) eliminated enrollee cost-sharing for recommended vaccines covered under Medicare Part D. In 2021, 3.4 million people received vaccines under Part D, and annual out-of-pocket costs were $234 million.

This report examines the utilization of oral antiviral medications, Paxlovid and Lagevrio, for the treatment of COVID-19. The analyses include an examination of time trends of COVID-19 antiviral use as well as breakdowns by age cohorts and gender. The report finds that utilization in the U.S.

In April 2021 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued revised Practice Guidelines for the Administration of Buprenorphine for Treating Opioid Use Disorder (Practice Guideline).

High prescription drug costs are a leading concern among Americans. Americans pay higher prices for prescription drugs than any other country in the world, with prescription drug prices in the U.S. more than 2.5 times as high as those in other similar high-income nations.

Prescription drug price increases create affordability challenges for patients and for the government. This report tracks drug price changes from 2016-2022. There were 1,216 products whose price increases during the twelve-month period from July 2021 to July 2022 exceeded the inflation rate of 8.5 percent for that time period. The average price increase for these drugs was 31.6 percent.

Key FindingsPolicy discussion surrounding U.S. prescription drug prices focuses on whether prices in the United States are too high or appropriate relative to the benefits that they offer to patients.

Prescriptions dispensed for antipsychotics in nursing homes and assisted living facilities increased since the beginning of the pandemic, with 20.8 thousand dispensed in 2020 compared to 20.5 thousand in 2019. This represents a 1.5% increase in total prescriptions since the beginning of the pandemic despite lower resident census levels in long-term care facilities (LTCFs).

The purpose of this study was to estimate the cost of generic drug development and approval. This study develops an analytical framework for examining the expected net present value (ENPV) (i.e., the difference between the present value of expected revenues over product life and cost of product development and approval) to a generic drug developer in different size drug markets.

More than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries struggle to afford prescription medications. Among adults 65 and older, Black and Latino beneficiaries are most likely to experience affordability problems. Medicare beneficiaries with lower incomes and those under age 65 also had above-average rates of not taking needed medications due to cost.

Many stakeholders and steps are involved in the life cycle of a prescription drug as it moves from chemical synthesis and formulation through dispensing or administration to patients. The specific steps involved in prescription drug supply chains often differ depending on the type of drug, the channel of distribution, and the patient’s source of prescription drug coverage.