| dc.description | As pharmaceutical drug prices continue to rise in the United States with projections for annual growth in net spending at 2-5% through 2024, a growing number of Americans are reporting difficulty in affording their prescription medications.1,2 In response, the Trump Administration and leaders of Congress have signaled growing interest in enacting legislation that would improve pharmaceutical drug coverage and lower out-of-pocket costs for patients. Yet, against the backdrop of a fragmented, multi-payer health care system and the millions of Americans who remain uninsured, many recent proposals supported by the Trump Administration, such as the Grassley-Wyden bill and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid’s International Pricing Index Model, do not address the significant disparities that exist between individuals in one’s ability to fill their prescription and pay for it. To help inform discussion on enacting legislation that would reduce cost-sharing—i.e. the amount paid by a patient out-of-pocket for their prescription drugs—and that would negotiate pharmaceutical drug prices across all health insurance plans, this study examines changes in total pharmaceutical drug spending, out-of-pocket costs for pharmaceuticals, and access before and after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by health insurance status | en_US |
