On the front page of the Business Section, the New York Times (4/26, B1, Thomas, Subscription Publication) reports that in 2015, list prices for prescription drugs rose by over 12%, “in line with the trend over the five previous years,” according to a report by research firm IMS Health. However, net price growth, “what insurers and employers actually pay for drugs,” only went up 2.8% last year, “one of the lowest increases in years.” According to the Times, large list price increases compared to net price growth mean that the “burden falls most heavily on those least able to pay it,” as “uninsured patients often must pay the list price of a drug, and an increasingly large share of insured customers are being asked to pay a percentage of the list price.”
Related Links:
— “Drug Prices Keep Rising Despite Intense Criticism,” Katie Thomas, New York Times, April 26, 2016.