A new AARP Public Policy Institute analysis finds that prices for the 25 top-selling brand-name prescription drugs increased an average of 81% after entering the U.S. market, while lifetime prices for the same drugs fell an average of 13% across 19 comparable high-income countries.
These findings come as policymakers in Washington continue debating international reference pricing approaches like "most-favored-nation" drug pricing aimed at aligning U.S. drug prices more closely with prices paid in peer nations.
"This analysis shows that the broader U.S. prescription drug market continues to behave differently from comparable countries, where prices for brand name drugs often stabilize or decline over time rather than continuing to rise years after launch," Leigh Purvis, AARP's prescription drug policy principal and author of the report, said in a statement. "Medicare drug price negotiation is successfully reducing costs for millions of seniors, and these findings underscore why efforts to improve prescription drug affordability must continue to ensure all Americans can afford the drugs they need."
The different price trajectories play a role in the United States' comparatively high brand-name drug prices and provide additional context for the Trump administration's interest in aligning U.S. drug prices with prices paid in other countries, according to researchers.
The analysis also indicates, researchers added, that the significant price reductions obtained through Medicare drug price negotiation do not necessarily translate into lower prices for other payers and that additional reforms are needed to ensure all Americans can afford the drugs they need.
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