Here are five key findings from the study:

In 2020, pharmaceutical spending topped $570 billion — a 77% increase from $322 billion in 2010.
Prescription drug spending rose the most in Washington, D.C. (up 117%), followed by Colorado and Texas (both up 110%). Minnesota, West Virginia, and North Dakota saw modest jumps of between 43% and 49%.
Out-of-pocket prescription costs (including copays and coinsurance) dropped from $48 billion in 2010 to $47 billion in 2020 — despite a spike to $52 billion in 2015.
Nationally, U.S. households spent $4,571 per year on prescriptions. Delaware had the highest per household costs, at $6,513, and two other states also were above $6,000 per year: Kentucky ($6,033) and Tennessee ($6,007). States with the lowest prescription costs per household were North Dakota ($2,772), South Dakota ($3,194), and Montana ($3,261).
A "staggering" 12% of prescriptions in North Dakota are paid entirely out of pocket. By contrast, only 3% or less of prescriptions in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont are paid entirely out of pocket.

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Study: Prescription drug spending soared from 2010 to 2020, as out-of-pocket costs fell