January is usually a key month for drug price increases in the U.S., and 2024 appears to be no exception. Pharmaceutical companies plan to raise the list prices of more than 500 prescription drugs in the U.S. this month, with more announcements expected in the coming weeks.That's right From a Reuters reportwhich is based on data from healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.
Notable drugmakers planning to raise prices include major companies such as Pfizer, Sanofi and Takeda.
According to . 46 Data from Brooklyn, a drug pricing nonprofit associated with Axis 3 Advisors. Overall, drug manufacturers raised list prices for 1,425 drugs in 2023, down slightly from 1,460 in 2022.
So far, Pfizer has 2024 profit forecast revised downwards and is currently being implemented Cost reduction and headcount reduction In response to the pandemic's meteoric rise, the company plans to raise prices on the most drugs this month: 124 items. The second largest company is Takeda-owned Baxalta, which plans to raise prices on 53 items.
While it is unclear what all price increases are or will be, the industry standard is to keep these annual increases to 10% or less. According to Reuters, data from 46Brooklyn shows the median price increase since 2019 is about 5%.
The annual price increases come amid a new federal effort to bring down the nation's endemic high drug prices. While drug companies are continuing their January price hikes, they are cutting some prices to avoid paying steep penalties under the provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which went into effect on January 1. This provision would require drug companies to pay large rebates to Medicaid if: Drug price increases outpace inflation, but they often do this skillfully. In some cases, such as insulin, unless prices are adjusted, drug companies will have to pay more in rebates to the Medicaid program than the actual net cost of the drug.
Additionally, under the Inflation Control Act of 2022, Medicare will be able to negotiate drug prices, and the first 10 drugs selected for negotiation were announced in August.
