Several pharmaceutical companies raised drug prices by 6.6% in the first few weeks of 2022, according to Mint.
The prices have been increased on cancer, diabetes, and other prescription drugs, while lawmakers are scrutinizing pricing practices.
Overall, nearly 150 companies raised prices on more than 860 products in the United States through January 20, according to Rx Savings Solutions, a web-based healthcare consumerism software that helps employers and health plans choose the least-expensive drugs.
Pharma companies often increase drug prices during the first few weeks of every year.
Several years ago, many companies pledged to moderately increase prices due to political pressure and Congress imposing regulations to rein in their pricing power.
Ronny Gal, a pharmaceutical industry analyst at Bernstein & Co., said drugmakers were more aggressive in increasing prices in the past, especially in 2015 and 2016, when some marquee drugs had increases of greater than 10%.
He said, “Those were the years the companies went hog wild on price increases. That was the peak.”
The skyrocketing prices triggered criticism from Democrats and Republicans, prompting congressional hearings.
Gal said in addition to political pressure, drugmakers have also been less bold in raising prices because doing so is less profitable than in years past because of some drug-pricing measures designed to reduce inflation.
He explained, “Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor that requires companies to pay rebates on any price increases above inflation, has become an increasingly larger share of the overall market.”
The Biden administration’s social-spending and climate bill includes several drug-pricing provisions, which would rein in pricing power.
The bill, which is currently stalled in Congress, would cap price increases at the overall rate of inflation across government and private health insurance programs. It would also require the government to directly negotiate prices for certain high-cost medicines covered by Medicare.
Michael Rea, CEO of Rx Savings Solutions, said, “We know people are more stressed financially today than they were a year ago, and the need for information and support needs to grow.”
This year, companies have increased the prices of some of the biggest-selling medicines in the United States.
AbbVie raised the price of its anti-inflammatory drug Humira (adalimumab) by 7% and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. increased the price for blood-thinner Eliquis (apixaban) by 6%. Eli Lilly & Co. raised the price of its diabetes medication Trulicity (dulaglutide) by 5%.
