High drug prices: Why 9 million Americans are not taking medications as prescribed

More than 8% of Americans have skipped, delayed or reduced the amount of prescribed medication because of cost concerns, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

In 2021, of the 58% of adults aged 18 to 64 who took prescription drugs at any time in the past 12 months, 9.2 million adults reported not taking medications as prescribed because of cost, using such strategies as skipping doses, taking less than the prescribed dose or delaying filling a prescription, according to the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey. The percentage of adults not taking medication as prescribed varied by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as by disability status and health status, health insurance and prescription drug coverage.

“The main takeaway is that 1.3 million people rationed insulin the United States, one of the richest countries in the world,” Dr. Adam Gaffney a physician at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the study, told CNN. “This is a lifesaving drug. Rationing insulin can have life-threatening consequences.”