Analyzing Affordability and Access to Drugs and Devices

Assessment of Hypothetical Out-of-Pocket Costs of Guideline-Recommended Medications for the Treatment of Older Adults With Multiple Chronic Conditions, 2009 and 2019 (Published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Jan 2022) - Tianna Zhou, Patrick Liu, Sanket S. Dhruva, Nilay D. Shah, Reshma Ramachandran, Karina M. Berg, Joseph S. Ross

• The authors examined out-of-pocket Medicare prescription drug costs for seniors with multiple common, chronic conditions. They found that between 2009 and 2019 that there has been a dramatic increase in these costs for older adults, largely driven by costly, brand-name drugs without generic competition.
• Related Op-Ed in STAT News (published 1/7/22): Out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries need to be reined in