Prescription Drug Affordability
Prescription drugs only improve health when patients can afford them. We examine what drives high drug costs and the policy solutions that can make needed medicines more affordable.
Featured
Negotiation Outcomes Calculator
Our interactive model lets you control Medicare prescription drug price negotiation policy. Select policy options and see the effects and tradeoffs between the number of drugs that would be subject to negotiation and the potential savings to Medicare.
Prescription Drug Affordability in America: A Growing Crisis
Prescription drug affordability is a growing challenge for millions of Americans. Millions are forced to skip medications, ration doses, and delay care—while support for government action reaches overwhelming levels.
American Exceptionalism: Why U.S. drug prices are the highest in the world
Americans pay substantially more for prescription drugs than people in other high-income countries. The problem is rooted in the structure of the U.S. healthcare system.
Education
Cutting through complexity to support effective drug pricing policy
Cutting through complexity to support effective drug pricing policy. Our resources cut through complexity to highlight the forces driving prescription drug prices. They equip decision-makers with the insights needed to advance more effective affordability solutions.Patient Affordability
Bringing patient experiences to the forefront of prescription drug policy debates
Bringing patient experiences to the forefront of prescription drug policy debates. For many patients, the price of prescription drugs directly shapes whether they can access and stay on needed treatments. Their experiences reveal how affordability challenges lead to difficult tradeoffs, impacting health, financial stability, and well-being.
Medicare Negotiation
Unpacking the policy, process, and potential impact of Medicare drug price negotiation
Unpacking the policy, process, and potential impact of Medicare drug price negotiation. Medicare negotiation is reshaping how drug prices are set—bringing new leverage to lower costs for beneficiaries. Explore how the program works and what different policy scenarios could mean for costs and savings.
PBMs
Analyzing the role of PBMs and how to realign incentives
PBMs influence key aspects of the prescription drug system that affect patients and payers alike. These resources unpack those dynamics and explore reforms to better align incentives and lower costs.
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Launch Price and Access Report: Drug Approvals from 2022-2025
ICER and West Health developed the 2026 “Launch Price and Access Report”, an independent analysis of drug prices and patient access for newly launched FDA-approved treatments. This Launch Price and Access Report analyzes launch price trends over four years (2022-2025). It also includes an in-depth review of patient access to newly launched drugs using real-world pharmacy and medical claims data, a...
Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on Medicare Beneficiary Affordability and Mortality
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) introduced multiple reforms to Medicare prescription drug payments, including a redesign of the Part D prescription drug benefit, rebates for drugs with price increases beyond inflation, the ability for Medicare to negotiate the price of certain drugs, and an option to have a predictable monthly payment plan for some beneficiaries. These changes are intended to im...
Why Medicare Isn't One-Size-Fits-All: The Medicare Quilt
From Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage, Medigap, Part D, and beyond, no two beneficiaries experience Medicare the same way.Medicare is often talked about as if it's a single program, but for the millions of Americans who rely on it, coverage looks more like a quilt than a blanket. Some beneficiaries stay in Original Medicare with Parts A and B. Others add Part D for prescription drugs, or Me...
From Molecules to Medicine: A Primer on the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
The pharmaceutical supply chain is a complex, global network that moves medicines from raw ingredient suppliers to manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, distributors, pharmacies, healthcare providers, and ultimately patients. This primer explains the role each stakeholder plays and highlights how international manufacturing and distribution networks influence the availability and cost of prescr...
Congressional Committees Shaping Prescription Drug Policy
Prescription drug costs rank among Americans’ top concerns, with four out of five saying prices are too high. Congress has the power to act, but with 46 committees across the House and Senate, knowing which panels hold that power isn’t always obvious. Download West Health’s new guide to learn about the committees best positioned to make a difference.
American Exceptionalism: Why U.S. drug prices are the highest in the world
Americans pay substantially more for prescription drugs than people in other high-income countries, often three to four times as much, even though they use fewer medications and have worse overall health outcomes. This gap has been known for decades, but policy efforts have not significantly reduced prices. The problem is rooted in the structure of the U.S. healthcare system rather than difference...
Prescription Drug Affordability in America: A Growing Crisis
Prescription drug affordability is a growing challenge for millions of Americans. New data show rising concern about the ability to pay for needed medications, with many households already facing situations where they cannot afford prescriptions. These challenges are especially pronounced among lower-income individuals and those with multiple chronic conditions, highlighting persistent gaps in acc...
Reform Check: Are Rebate Aggregators Changing How PBMs Do Business?
Over the last decade, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have become highly consolidated and vertically integrated, playing a central role in negotiating drug rebates on behalf of health plans. In recent years, however, PBMs have increasingly shifted this function to newly created entities known as rebate aggregators. Launched by the three largest PBMs, these aggregators now negotiate billions of do...
Medicare Negotiation Outcomes Calculator
This video introduces the Medicare Negotiation Outcomes Calculator—an interactive tool from West Health and Verdant Research that helps users understand how Medicare’s Drug Price Negotiation Program (MDPNP) works and how changing it would impact the program. The IRA, passed in 2022, granted Medicare the power for the first time to directly negotiate prices on high-cost drugs that have been on the ...