KFF Analysis Shows Big Pharma’s Price Hikes Outpaced Inflation for Half of All Prescription Drugs Covered by Medicare
A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found Big Pharma hiked prices faster than the rate of inflation on 23 of the top 25 most popular prescription drugs in the Medicare Part D program in 2020. Big Pharma’s faster-than-inflation price hikes included all three of the top drugs for highest gross spending in the Part D program, Eliquis, Revlimid and Xarelto. Drug companies’ price hikes also outpaced inflation on 16 of the top 25 best-selling drugs in the Medicare Part B program.
The analysis also found drug prices for half of all drugs covered by the Medicare program increased faster than the rate of inflation between 2019 and 2020, including half of all drugs covered in Medicare Part D (50 percent of 3,343 drugs) and nearly half of all drugs covered in Part B (48 percent of 568 drugs).
Among drugs covered by Part D with price hikes exceeding inflation the median increase was 5.6 percent, and among those covered by Part B the median increase was 5.4 percent.
The analysis comes just following the conclusion of earnings reports for the fourth quarter of 2021 from Big Pharma companies that demonstrated the pharmaceutical industry continues to rake in massive profits after hiking drug prices repeatedly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full KFF analysis HERE.
Read more on Big Pharma’s recently announced 2021 Q4 earnings HERE, HERE and HERE.
Read more on market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower prescription drug prices HERE.