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During the 2020 State of the Union deal with, President Donald Trump zeroed in on prescription drug costs, arguing that his administration is “taking on the big pharmaceutical companies.”
Among the proof for that declare: a speaking level the administration has been utilizing since final April.
“I was pleased to announce last year that, for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs actually went down,” Trump mentioned.
We’ve examined this declare twice earlier than, ranking it Mostly False. But prescription drug costs are a significant voter concern. So we needed to take one other look, in case issues had modified.
Experts instructed us the information stays basically unchanged. Drug costs are nonetheless not happening.
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The Old Talking Point
Last spring, Trump’s workforce pulled this declare from two sources: a 2018 report from the president’s Council of Economic Advisers and information evaluating the January 2019 Consumer Price Index for medication to that of January 2018. The CPI information urged a decline in drug costs.
But after we spoke to specialists, they rapidly debunked this place. For one factor, CPI information is imperfect — it exhibits checklist costs, fairly than what customers pay on the pharmacy counter. For one other, it covers solely medication bought by way of retail, which accounts for about three-quarters of all prescriptions. That misses high-priced specialty medication which might be bought solely by way of the mail.
Plus, different metrics confirmed that drug costs had, in truth, gone up, though by little or no. Last April, as an example, the identical CPI information indicated a rise — between April 2018 and April 2019, drug costs had elevated by zero.three%. Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation additionally urged a rise in whole spending on drug costs that 12 months, even when progress had slowed. (KHN is an editorially impartial program of the inspiration.)
What’s Changed?
Today, costs aren’t going up as quick as they had been earlier than, mentioned Stacie Dusetzina, an affiliate professor at Vanderbilt University who research drug pricing. But they’re nonetheless going up.
“That probably doesn’t provide the average person with much relief,” she mentioned.
Meanwhile, there’s the query of particular person checklist worth will increase. (List costs are outlined as what’s charged earlier than rebates — an quantity few folks pay however that dictates negotiations.) The CPI information paints with a broad brush, drug pricing analysts mentioned, obscuring simply what number of medication have seen and proceed to see their costs go up.
In 2019, four,311 pharmaceuticals skilled a worth hike, with the typical enhance hovering round 21%, based on information compiled by Rx Savings Solutions, a consulting group. Meanwhile, 619 medication had worth dips.
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And already in 2020, 2,519 medication have elevated costs. The common hike to date this 12 months is 6.9%. Meanwhile, the costs of 70 medication have dropped. Typically, branded medication enhance their costs early within the 12 months, and generics accomplish that later, mentioned Michael Rea, the CEO of Rx Savings Solutions. When generics submit their worth will increase, the 2020 common worth hike will doubtless go up.
“As a broad brushstroke, the story remains the same. Drug prices are going up, not down,” Rea mentioned.
Our Ruling
President Trump mentioned that in 2018, “for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs went down.”
Nothing has modified since our earlier rulings on this assertion. And the continued drug pricing pattern means that costs could also be stabilizing, however they aren’t coming down. And customers usually are not experiencing that aid.
We price this declare Mostly False.
This story might be republished free of charge (details).
During the 2020 State of the Union deal with, President Donald Trump zeroed in on prescription drug costs, arguing that his administration is “taking on the big pharmaceutical companies.”
Among the proof for that declare: a speaking level the administration has been utilizing since final April.
“I was pleased to announce last year that, for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs actually went down,” Trump mentioned.
We’ve examined this declare twice earlier than, ranking it Mostly False. But prescription drug costs are a significant voter concern. So we needed to take one other look, in case issues had modified.
Experts instructed us the information stays basically unchanged. Drug costs are nonetheless not happening.
The Old Talking Point
Last spring, Trump’s workforce pulled this declare from two sources: a 2018 report from the president’s Council of Economic Advisers and information evaluating the January 2019 Consumer Price Index for medication to that of January 2018. The CPI information urged a decline in drug costs.
But after we spoke to specialists, they rapidly debunked this place. For one factor, CPI information is imperfect — it exhibits checklist costs, fairly than what customers pay on the pharmacy counter. For one other, it covers solely medication bought by way of retail, which accounts for about three-quarters of all prescriptions. That misses high-priced specialty medication which might be bought solely by way of the mail.
Plus, different metrics confirmed that drug costs had, in truth, gone up, though by little or no. Last April, as an example, the identical CPI information indicated a rise — between April 2018 and April 2019, drug costs had elevated by zero.three%. Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation additionally urged a rise in whole spending on drug costs that 12 months, even when progress had slowed. (KHN is an editorially impartial program of the inspiration.)
What’s Changed?
Today, costs aren’t going up as quick as they had been earlier than, mentioned Stacie Dusetzina, an affiliate professor at Vanderbilt University who research drug pricing. But they’re nonetheless going up.
“That probably doesn’t provide the average person with much relief,” she mentioned.
Meanwhile, there’s the query of particular person checklist worth will increase. (List costs are outlined as what’s charged earlier than rebates — an quantity few folks pay however that dictates negotiations.) The CPI information paints with a broad brush, drug pricing analysts mentioned, obscuring simply what number of medication have seen and proceed to see their costs go up.
In 2019, four,311 pharmaceuticals skilled a worth hike, with the typical enhance hovering round 21%, based on information compiled by Rx Savings Solutions, a consulting group. Meanwhile, 619 medication had worth dips.
And already in 2020, 2,519 medication have elevated costs. The common hike to date this 12 months is 6.9%. Meanwhile, the costs of 70 medication have dropped. Typically, branded medication enhance their costs early within the 12 months, and generics accomplish that later, mentioned Michael Rea, the CEO of Rx Savings Solutions. When generics submit their worth will increase, the 2020 common worth hike will doubtless go up.
“As a broad brushstroke, the story remains the same. Drug prices are going up, not down,” Rea mentioned.
Our Ruling
President Trump mentioned that in 2018, “for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs went down.”
Nothing has modified since our earlier rulings on this assertion. And the continued drug pricing pattern means that costs could also be stabilizing, however they aren’t coming down. And customers usually are not experiencing that aid.
We price this declare Mostly False.
