Research published Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA estimates that close to half of all new brand-name prescription drugs launched in the U.S. in 2020 and 2021 came with an original price tag of at least $150,000 a year, a finding that sparked fresh calls for Congress to rein in the pharmaceutical industry’s virtually unchecked power to drive up costs.
“Prescription drug spending in the U.S. exceeded half a trillion dollars in 2020.”
Authored by researchers with the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the new analysis finds that “from 2008 to 2021, launch prices for new drugs increased exponentially by 20% per year.”
“In 2020-2021, 47% of new drugs were initially priced above $150,000 per year,” the researchers wrote. “The trend in prices for new drugs outpaces growth in prices for other healthcare services.”
The study also shows that median launch prices of prescription drugs soared from $2,115 per year in 2008 to a staggering $180,007 in 2021.
“Unbelievable,” Nancy LeaMond, chief […]
It is not that the American people are complacent by any means regarding healthcare. The data, however, is very clear: The opinions of the American Public has almost zero influence on policy decisions unless backed by the elites. Our current system is a direct consequence living in a non-representative republic.