Drug Pricing Remains Hot Topic, but Legislation Addressing It Has Stalled

While drug prices continue to be an issue of concern to many Americans, whether it can get any legislative traction issue remains unclear. So what might happen on the issue in 2022?

Dea Belazi, Pharm.D., M.P.H., president and CEO of AscellaHealth: Pharmaceutical drug pricing continues to be a contentious policy issue. Recent data has branded drug list prices growing annually by more than 9% over the last decade, which is much higher than gross domestic product (GDP) growth. However, a RAND study found that prices for unbranded generic drugs...are slightly lower in the United States than in most other nations. Additionally, patients’ out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs have increased faster than GDP growth over the same period — 2.8% vs. 2.3%. Furthermore, the current White House administration and Congress have declared that reining in Medicare prescription drug costs to help older adults and people with disabilities is a top priority. This will put drug pricing in the crosshairs of elected officials, advocacy groups and patients.…