• Healthcare costs have risen dramatically in the United States over the past several decades. Reports advise that U.S. healthcare spending rose nearly a trillion dollars from 2009 to 2019, when adjusted for inflation.

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• The study reported that U.S. health care spending during 2019 was nearly $3.8 trillion, or $11,582 per person, and exceeded $4.1 trillion in 2020. By 2028, these costs are expected to climb to $6.2 trillion—roughly $18,000 per person.

 

• The largest driver of rising costs is service price and intensity (including the rising cost of pharmaceutical drugs), which make up more than 50% of cost increases over time.

 

• In Alabama, there are key priorities policy makers can take to support affordable healthcare in the face of rising costs nationally.

  • Lowering Prescription Drug Costs: Nearly a quarter of every dollar spent on healthcare goes towards paying for prescription drugs. Mandates threaten to drive that number even higher. We need to lower drug costs through increased transparency and a more competitive marketplace.

  • Ending Costly Mandates: Coverage and payment parity mandates for telehealth threaten to undermine virtual care’s ability to expand access and lower costs. Experts are urging lawmakers against enacting them.

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• An analysis by the Associated Press found that drug makers had raised the price of brand-name products more than 4,400 times in the first half of 2020, compared with 46 price cuts. That’s 96 increases for every reduction.

 

• In 2020 alone, Big Pharma has already hiked drug prices on 2,100 prescription drugs. This happens year after year, and sometimes even twice a year.

 

• AHIP reports a 652% price hike for the drug that treats opioid overdoses, a 596% increase for a popular antidepressant over a three-year span, and a 248% surge in Humira (the world’s most popular drug) over five years.