- The U.S. the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a new report indicating that more than 1,200 prescription drugs rose in price faster than the rate of inflation between July 2021 and July 2022. The report specifically found that during that time period, the prices for 1,216 drugs increased more than the 8.6 percent rate of inflation, with these products having an average price increase of 31.6 percent. The prices for some drugs rose by more than 500 percent in 2022. Starting October 1, a new provision in the Inflation Reduction Act required drug manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare if the price increases on their products used for beneficiaries exceed the inflation rate. The White House said that the drugs whose price increases outpaced inflation could potentially have been subject to those new provisions. (Press release here; Articles here, here, and here)
October 3, 2022
Life Sciences