Prescription Drug Prices In 2022 Have Risen Faster Than Any Year Since Before Trump

Prescription drug prices during 2022 – under Democrat President Joe Biden – rose faster than any year since before former President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Most prescription drug price increases occur in either January or July each year, with the greatest number taking place in January. The number of increases in both months during 2022 was higher than in previous years,” a report from the United States Department of Health and Human Services said. “In January 2022, the average price increase was nearly $150 per drug (10.0 percent), and in July 2022, it was $250 (7.8 percent). The dollar increases were larger than for the same months in previous years.”

“In 2022, several drugs increased their list prices by more than $20,000 or by more than 500 percent,” the report added. “There were 1216 products whose price increases during the twelve-month period from July 2021 to July 2022 exceeded the inflation rate of 8.5 percent for that time period. The average price increase for these drugs was31.6 percent.”

While it is unclear how the Democrats’ so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” which is ironically expected to increase inflation, will affect prescription drug prices, the bill is projected to decrease the after-tax incomes for Americans in every income bracket. This means that the legislation – which may or may not actually reduce prescription drug prices – would have to reduce prescription drug prices more than it increases inflation and decreases after-tax incomes for Americans in order to decrease effective prescription drug prices.

The news comes more than a year after the Biden administration released their Comprehensive Plan to Address Drug Pricing which explains that their priority is to make prescription drug prices more afford able to Americans.