GOODRX HOLDINGS, INC. Key takeaways:
Our survey found that 33% of Americans leave prescriptions for medications unfilled due to cost, risking health and increasing long-term healthcare expenses.
Nearly 30% of Americans encounter drug shortages, which affects access to essential medications like Ozempic and insulins.
Millions of Americans rely on prescription medications each year. But how easy is it to get them, and how much are people really paying for them? The GoodRx Research Team ran a 3-month survey to try to answer these questions.
Below we walk through insights from our survey of 3,000 Americans. We highlight the significant financial and accessibility challenges they face in filling their prescriptions.
51 million Americans leave their prescription at the pharmacy every monthAccording to our survey, 32% of Americans (51 million if extrapolated to the general population) had a prescription sent to the pharmacy that was ultimately not filled. The most common reason for not filling the medication was cost, followed by forgetting to pick the medication up, the medication being out of stock, and the inability to get to the pharmacy in time.
This finding is alarming given that nonadherence, or not taking a medication as prescribed, can worsen chronic conditions. The high cost of medications can force people to make difficult choices between prioritizing their health and managing other essential expenses. In turn, this can potentially lead to poor health outcomes and increased costs in the long run.
25% of Americans have at least one drug that insurance doesn't coverEven Americans with health insurance face challenges filling their medication(s). In fact, a quarter of Americans are unable to fill medication(s) because their insurance doesn't cover them.
When a medication isn't covered, patients are often on the hook for the full price. They may face financial strain and, ultimately, gaps in treatment and worsening symptoms.
As it turns out, individuals who rely on the Affordable Care Act health exchange insurance plans have poorer coverage compared to other plan types. The percentage of people reporting a lack of prescription coverage is highest among those on health exchange plans at 33%. It's lowest among those on Tricare, Veterans Affairs (VA) insurance, or other military insurance.
On average, 23% of people spend more than $50 per month on their prescriptionsWe found that 23% of people spent more than $50 on their prescriptions per month (after removing respondents with Medicaid coverage). And nearly 10% reported spending over $100 in the most recent month on their prescriptions.
And, once again, those relying on the health exchange, uninsured or private insurance seem to pay more out of pocket on their prescriptions each month.
Those on exchange plans face considerable variability in their costs, with only 19.4% paying nothing out of pocket and 1.7% paying $500 or more per month. This group, along with those enrolled in private insurance, appear to have the worst coverage. A substantial portion of their out-of-pocket costs falls into the mid-to-high cost brackets. Medicaid recipients, on the other hand, appear to have the most comprehensive coverage.
This finding is a reminder that prescription affordability will remain a concern for many Americans until medication costs come down.
Only 41% of Americans are talking about medication affordability with their healthcare professionalsResearch shows that patients want to talk about cost with their physicians, but few are actually doing so. In our survey of American adults, we found that only 41% were having these conversations. And given that cost is a barrier to filling prescriptions, cost conversations should happen every time medications are prescribed.
Drug shortages affect 28% of Americans trying to fill their prescription medicationsWhile some Americans are unable to afford their medications, 28% aren't able to access their medication at all due to shortages. Among the drugs that people are struggling to access are Ozempic, insulins, Zepbound, Losartan, Minoxidil, and Adderall.
Factors contributing to shortages may include increased demand, supply chain issues, and manufacturing delays.
MethodologyOur survey was run through YouGov, in three waves. The survey ran from February 9 to February 23, 2024; March 1 to March 21, 2024; and April 1 to April 13, 2024. In each wave, we collected 1,000 responses. Survey responses were weighted to the U.S. population using age, gender, race, political affiliation, and education level. More information on the YouGov survey research arm is available here. To estimate the number of Americans who left a prescription at the pharmacy each month, we multiplied our survey's incidence rate by the percentage of respondents who reported leaving at least one prescription at the pharmacy. This product was then multiplied by the total number of American adults, based on data from the 2019 American Community Survey.
Brick, D.J., et al. (2019). The impact of cost conversations on the patient-physician relationship. Health Communications.
Walsh, C.A., et al. (2019). The association between medication non‐adherence and adverse health outcomes in ageing populations: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
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GoodRx Holdings Inc. published this content on 26 June 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 27 June 2024 18:34:10 UTC.
