High costs prevented or delayed nearly 13 million from accessing needed medications
In the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 13 million adults delayed or did not get needed prescription drugs because of costs, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, according to a press release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The analysis offers insight as Congress debates drug pricing reform provisions in the Build Back Better Acts, discovering:
- More than one-quarter of adults with Medicare (25.4%) and 5.3% of privately insured adults spent more than 1% of their family income on their individual out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. More than 3% of Medicare beneficiaries—and nearly 7% of beneficiaries with unmet prescription drug needs—spent over more than 10% of their family income on prescription drugs.
- About one in ten adults who were uninsured all year (9.5%) or part of the year (11.6%) reported unmet prescription drug needs, compared with 4.9% of Medicare beneficiaries, 3.0% of privately insured adults, and 5.6% of nonelderly adults with Medicaid.
- For Medicare beneficiaries and privately insured adults, unmet prescription drug needs were most common among women, people with low incomes, and people with multiple chronic health conditions.
High and rising prescription drug costs are a considerable public health concern that fosters accessibility challenges and unmet needs for consumers, regardless of coverage status. Policies to reduce drug prices, limit out-of-pocket costs and expand health insurance coverage would help millions afford and access needed prescription they are currently unable to pay for.
The United States has a history of drug unaffordability and inaccessibility, especially for older adults living in underserved communities. More than two million Medicare beneficiaries and nearly four million privately insured working-age adults reported skipping needed treatment because of cost.
