Prescription Drug Resources
WHY PRESCRIPTION DRUGS?
The astounding rise of prescription drug prices — now approaching 20% of health care costs in the U.S. — has left employers and consumers reeling.
Employers are struggling to offer benefits that ensure access to common drugs like insulin with prices that have tripled over the past decade, and to life-saving new drug therapies for uncommon or rare conditions that typically range from $250,000 to $1 million. A drug approved by the FDA in late 2019 tops $2 million. And about 25% of adults say it is difficult to afford their medication, including one in 10 who say it is very difficult.
OUR FOCUS AND GOAL
Action Group members are committed to helping bring order to a dysfunctional prescription drug marketplace that is subject to high cost, high variability, and high waste. They have formed invaluable relationships with supply chain stakeholders who come to a common table to clarify purchaser expectations and to hold one another accountable for getting the 5 rights, right. The goals include:
TOOLS FOR EMPLOYERS
Given the right tools and resources, employers have the power to gain control over unpredictable and unsustainable prescription drug prices.
- Specialty Drug Employer Playbook
- Specialty Drug Employer Purchaser’s Guide Phase I
- Specialty Drug Employer Purchaser’s Guide Phase II
WORKING TOGETHER TO DRIVE CHANGE
The Action Group has convened Community Dialogues, member Learning Networks, and a Specialty Drug Guiding Coalition to collaborate with all prescription drug stakeholders and renowned expert advisors to drive policies and innovations that advance quality, value and transparency.
- Stakeholder Call to Action (Getting the 5 Rights, Right)
- 2019 Specialty Drug Community Dialogue presentation
- 2016 Specialty Drug Community Dialogue presentation
- National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions’ Future Vision for the Specialty Drug Marketplace
- Advisory Task Force on Lowering Pharmaceutical Prices: Why it Matters to Employees (presentation)
RELEVANT RESEARCH AND REPORTS
The work of Action Group members on addressing the high cost of prescription drugs is informed by relevant research.
- Report of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Advisory Task Force on Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices
- Employer Rx Value Assessment Framework: Building the Bridge to Sustainability (Infographic)
- Removing Waste from Formularies
- 2020 Employer Roundtables on Drug Management Report
- 2019 Purchasers Guide to PBM Quality
- National Pharmaceutical Council Guide for Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions and Employers
- Peterson-KFF: What are the Recent and Forecasted Trends in Prescription Drug Spending?
- JAMA: Trends in Prices of Popular Brand-Name Prescription Drugs in the U.S.
- Webinar: Employer Perspectives on Prescription Drug Management
ARTICLES AND MEDIA COVERAGE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
- Minnesota Task Force Takes Aim at Prescription Drug Prices
- The 20 Most Expensive Prescription Drugs in the U.S.A.
- Over 600 Drugs Saw Price Hikes in January (2020); What Does it Mean for Consumers?
- The Link Between Drug Prices and Research on the Next Generation of Cures
- When Insurance Won’t Cover Drugs, Americans Make Tough Choices About Their Health
- Employers Focus on High-Cost Claims, Drug Spending in 2020
- Top Issues Facing Pharma in 2020
- Costly Specialty Drugs make up 40% of 2018 Employer Drug Spending Despite Few Prescriptions
- Minnesota Aims for more Transparency on Drug Prices
- Drug Prices Persistently Rising Despite Trump Efforts
- UnitedHealth, Prime Therapeutics Called to Testify on Drug Costs
- Minnesota Employers Target High Medication Prices with ‘Playbook’
- Minnesota Patients Paying the Price of Drug Roulette
- Specialty Medications Nearing 50 percent of Spend
- Why are Prescription Drug Prices Rising? And What Can be Done?
- Drug Market to See More Competition, Launch of Biosimilars in 2019
PASSIONATE ABOUT PRESCRIPTION DRUG REFORM?
If you are interested in engaging with The Action Group to drive improvements in the prescription drug marketplace, please contact Mamie Segall ([email protected]).