Despite US policy changes, drug prices stay stubbornly high
US policy changes designed to curb medicine pricing under recent administrations seem to have been ineffective, as the annual cost of new medicines continues to exceed $250,000, curbing patient access.
That is the conclusion of a new report (PDF) from US health technology assessment (HTA) organisation ICER and nonprofit West Health, which concludes that the median annual net drug launch price – after rebates and discounts – reached $257,000 in 2025, 35% above the $190,000 recorded in their 2022 analysis.
The intervening period covers policy changes such as Medicare pricing negotiations introduced under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in 2022, as well as the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) pricing policy enacted by the Trump administration.
The only gap in the upward trend came between 2024 and 2025, when there was a small 2% drop in net prices, and the most substantial increase came between 2022 and 2023 with increases stabilising thereafter.
The report found that roughly one in four drugs introduced in 2025 had an annual net price exceeding $500,000, while an additional 34% were launched at prices between $200,000 and $500,000, and two-thirds of newly approved drugs were priced above ICER's recommended thresholds for cost-effectiveness.
At the same time, almost four in 10 prescriptions were rejected due to non-coverage, which ICER said is "likely due to new-to-market blocks" – temporary use restrictions that payers employ to delay or deny coverage for up to 180 days while they complete clinical and economic reviews, negotiate rebates, and set up prior authorisation rules.
The findings come shortly after an ICER and West poll found that Americans are finding access to healthcare increasingly unaffordable, with almost 40% saying they are "concerned" or "very concerned" that their household will be unable to pay for needed prescription drugs in the next 12 months.
ICER is calling for urgent action to price drugs in line with their value and the removal of blocks that extend the delay in access beyond its recommendation of 90 days, and immediately when it involves treatments that are for rapidly progressive and/or fatal conditions for which there is no alternative.
"This independent analysis shows that we are facing a critical moment in the US health care system," said ICER's president and chief executive Sarah Emond.
"Overpayment for drugs beyond their value to patients is contributing to decreased patient access," she added. "Now more than ever, it is crucial that we start working towards the goal of pairing fair pricing with fair access – leading to a more affordable health system for us all."
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
