According to researchers, "While consumers are experiencing more cost sharing that in fact shifts more of the drug cost burden on to them, on balance in the US consumers have experienced substantial price declines."
A new study finds that generic drugs are a good deal for consumers; even given the cost-shifting that comes with some health plans, generic prices have gone down steadily in recent years. However, the move to high-deductible health plans means that consumers have seen fewer overall savings than they might have.
The study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), assisted by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, looked at prices for generic drugs between 2007 and 2016. The researchers noted that media accounts have reported sharp increases in specific generic drugs. A 2018 study by USC found an increase in cases of price increases for some generic drugs—but even that study found increases in less than 5 percent of all generic drugs.
|Lower prices mirrored in two cost indexes
Of course, a sharp price increase can be significant, even devastating, for consumers who rely on a specific drug. But for the vast majority of the market, the NBER study shows, generic costs have continued to go down.
Recommended For You
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
