The Cost for Brand Name Drugs Has Skyrocketed in the U.S.

The Cost for Brand Name Drugs Has Skyrocketed in the U.S.

In 2021 prices for the most popular brand-name prescription drugs surged once again. This continues a long-term trend that has seen the price that Americans pay for leading brand name drugs outpace the rate of inflation every single year for the past decade.

In 2021, the most highly prescribed brand name drugs saw their average price increased by 13.3% overall. This report was done by Express Scripts and used information from a random sample of over six million Americans to compile its price figures.

The only bright spot for Americans that are struggling with record high drug costs is that overall in 2021, spending on all drugs only rose by 3.5%. The reason for this is that many leading brand name drugs, such as Lipitor, went generic in 2021. Overall, spending on generic medication as a category was 22% lower in 2021 than a year earlier.

Generics often offer the best possible value. Whenever a lower-cost generic is available from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand, we here at Canadian Pharmacy Drug offer it as a lower priced alternative to our patients. The price of brand name medication from Canadianpharmacydrug.com also represents significant savings on drugs that have no generic equivalent available.

Almost 25% of drug spending in the U.S. in 2021 was spent was on drugs for mental and neurological disorders just as depression or Alzheimer’s. This category has seen the largest jump in use over the past decade, surpassing what is spent on drugs to combat various forms of diabetes and heart disease, the former leading category of medication spending. The reason for this is mostly because generic versions for many leading drugs to tackle depression or other mental disorders have not yet been released in generic versions, whereas many of the most prescribed drugs for heart disease have been released from patent protection and are now available in lower cost generic versions.

If brand name drug costs continue to grow as 13% a year, and Americans struggling with their cost are not allowed to look to safe, lower-cost international mail order pharmacies, more and more people will be pushed over the edge and will be unable to afford the medication they need.