Drug Prices

Numerous studies agree: Generics provide savings on prescription drugs. And six years into a sustained period of price deflation, many generic prices are lower than ever. But inexplicably, patients are paying more for many generics. Although the Medicare program has rules to safeguard beneficiaries, it has allowed Medicare drug plans to make changes that require patients to pay more for many generic drugs even as the prices of those drugs have fallen.

At a time of rising health care costs, generic and biosimilar medicines continue to generate savings and increase access to care for patients. AAM’s 2022 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report provides new insights across a variety of settings where savings reached greater heights, benefiting patients, consumers, employers, and taxpayers alike.

Here are five key takeaways from this year’s report:

In 2017, October felt her anxiety and panic attacks developing into something more serious: Her life, work, and relationships seemed meaningless. Realizing she needed help, October, age 26, sought in-hospital treatment in Maryland and was diagnosed with anxiety and chronic depression. She was started on a brand-name antidepressant; but after a change in health insurance coverage, she learned that her out-of-pocket costs for the medicine would be much higher. Her therapist recommended switching to a more affordable generic antidepressant, and she’s been on one ever since.

Recently, increasing numbers of patients are using pharmacy discount cards to afford their medicines. Advertising for these programs can be found everywhere. Unfortunately, the existence and explosive growth of pharmacy discount cards is merely one more symptom of a chronically broken system that limits patient access to what should be affordable generic medicines.

Congress is actively seeking to advance legislation to allow the Medicare program to “negotiate” the prices of brand drugs. However, these proposals neglect to consider the impact on the development of lower-cost generic and biosimilar medicines.