Until Congress regulates drug prices in the US as every other wealthy country does, prescription drug prices will continue to go up and an increasing number of Americans will suffer or die because they can’t afford their drugs. In the week ending July 5, pharmaceutical companies raised prices for 195 drugs, reports MM+M. Price increases were greater than the rate of inflation for more than half of these drugs.
Eli Lilly, BMS, Pfizer, AbbVie, Novartis and GSK raised prescription drug prices of certain drugs around seven percent, more than twice the rate of inflation, which was three percent. Prices rose $620, on average. Many of these drugs were cancer drugs or drugs for people with autoimmune conditions.
The price of Revlimid, a Celgene/Bristol Myers Squibb drug, which treats myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma increased seven percent. The drug price jumped from $83,322 to $89,155.
Some drug prices rose only a small amount. But, we know that even a very small out-of-pocket cost increase for a drug means that some people will stop taking their drugs. These price hikes will not stop until Congress regulates drug prices.
Medicare has begun negotiating the prices of ten high-priced drugs. We will know very shortly how the negotiated prices compare to what people pay in other wealthy countries for the same drugs. For reasons I cannot explain, people with Medicare will not benefit from these new prices until January 2026.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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