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With the cost of prescription drugs soaring by nearly 40% over the past decade, affordability concerns have forced about a third of Americans to leave their prescriptions unfilled at the pharmacy, drug-saving platform GoodRx Holdings (GDRX) said in a report this week.
According to GoodRx’s (GDRX) latest Prescription Cost Tracker, the list prices of brand-name and generic drugs have surged 37% from 2014 to 2024, far outpacing the rate of inflation.
Making matters worse, insurance plans are covering fewer and fewer medications. A separate analysis conducted by GoodRx (GDRX) indicate the percentage of drugs covered by Medicare Part D plans has dropped by 19% on average from 2010 to 2024.
Its review, based on first-quarter data from 3,700 Medicare Part D plans over the period, found that the share of prescribed drugs covered by those plans reached 54% on average in 2024, down from 73% in 2010.
To achieve that coverage, patients must jump through hoops, with restrictions such as prior authorizations imposed on many prescription drugs. According to GDRX, Medicare Part D plans had some form of restriction on 50% of drugs in 2024, up from 27% in 2010.
“Many people are experiencing the financial strain of paying out of pocket for their medications, especially as insurance plans cover fewer drugs and impose stricter conditions on the medications they do cover,” researchers wrote.
“This situation results in rising out-of-pocket costs, medication nonadherence, delayed care, poor health, and inequitable access to healthcare.”
In fact, 32% of Americans have cited affordability as a reason to have prescriptions unfilled at the pharmacy, while 20% have attributed it to drug shortages, according to GoodRx (GDRX).
“The high cost of medications can force people to make difficult choices between prioritizing their health and managing other essential expenses,” the researchers added following the survey, which used data collected from 3,000 Americans from January to May 2024.
Additionally, the firm noted that drug shortages have completely cut off 28% of Americans from accessing certain medications, such as weight loss and diabetes medications, Ozempic and Zepbound, manufactured by Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY), respectively.
