The cost of prescription drugs remains a hot-button issue for consumers and policymakers. The vast majority of the public views drug prices as unreasonable, and one in four people taking prescription drugs report difficulty affording their medication. Recently, the Trump Administration, Congress and state and federal policy makers have focused renewed attention on potential actions to address drug costs, including regulatory and legislative changes that affect Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance. This collection includes KFF research, analysis and public opinion data, as well as Kaiser Health News’ journalism, related to prescription drugs and their costs.
Featured Prescription Drugs Resources
What are the recent and forecasted trends in prescription drug spending?
This slideshow looks at past, present and future trends in prescription drug spending with a focus on the role of specialty drugs.
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Related Prescription Drugs Resources
- Kaiser Health News Coverage of Prescription Drug Issues
- How Does the Trump Administration Drug Pricing Blueprint Affect Medicaid?
- Medicare Part D in 2018: The Latest on Enrollment, Premiums, and Cost Sharing
- Snapshots of Recent State Initiatives in Medicaid Prescription Drug Cost Control
- Summary of Recent and Proposed Changes to Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage and Reimbursement
- Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – March 2018: Views on Prescription Drug Pricing and Medicare-for-all Proposals
- 10 Essential Facts About Medicare and Prescription Drug Spending
- No Limit: Medicare Part D Enrollees Exposed to High Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs Without a Hard Cap on Spending
- Public Opinion on the Use and Abuse of Prescription Opioids
- Searching for Savings in Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
- Medicaid’s Most Costly Outpatient Drugs
- Retail Prescription Drugs Filled at Pharmacies (Annual per Capita)
Public Opinion on Prescription Drugs and Their Prices
This slideshow draws on recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll findings to provide an in-depth look at the public’s attitudes toward prescription drugs and their prices. Results include Americans’ opinions on drug affordability, pharmaceutical companies, and various potential measures that could lower prices.
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KFF Health Tracking Poll – November 2018: Priorities for New Congress and the Future of the ACA and Medicaid Expansion
Fielded a week after the 2018 midterm elections, this poll examines the public’s priorities for the next Congress, measures favorability for ACA provisions including Medicaid expansion, and takes a look at knowledge of the current open enrollment period among adults ages 18-64 who purchase their own insurance or are currently uninsured. With the impending Texas v. United States lawsuit, in addition to several Trump administration policy actions aimed at different aspects of the U.S. health care system, this KFF survey also examines the public’s position on pre-existing conditions protections, prescription drug advertisements, and employer exemptions from covering birth control.
Bipartisan Majorities Support Trump Administration’s Push to Get Drug Prices in Advertisements, Even after Hearing Counter-Arguments
Only 1 in 4 Potential Marketplace Customers Know When ACA Open Enrollment Ends; 1 in 5 Say They Would Buy a Short-Term Plan A large majority of the public backs the Trump Administration’s initiative to require prescription drug advertisements to include information about prices, but fewer support other administrative actions…
States Focus on Quality and Outcomes Amid Waiver Changes: Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019
This report provides an in-depth examination of the changes taking place in Medicaid programs across the country. Report findings are drawn from the annual budget survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This report examines the reforms, policy changes, and initiatives that occurred in FY 2018 and those adopted for implementation for FY 2019 (which began for most states on July 1, 2018). Key areas covered include changes in eligibility, managed care and delivery system reforms, long-term services and supports, provider payment rates and taxes, covered benefits, and pharmacy and opioid strategies.
Medicare Part D: A First Look at Prescription Drug Plans in 2019
This issue brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit plan landscape, with a focus on stand-alone drug plans, the largest segment of the Part D market. It includes national and state-level data on plan availability, premiums, benefit design, cost sharing, information about premium-free plans for low-income beneficiaries, and information about the top ten Part D plans for 2019.
Medicare Open Enrollment FAQs
This list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Medicare Open Enrollment covers a range of topics related to Medicare enrollment, Medicare Advantage, Part D, Medigap, employer/retiree coverage, Medicaid and other low-income assistance, Medicare and the Marketplaces, and more.
An Overview of the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit
This fact sheet includes the latest information and data about the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, including current plan information, the standard benefit parameters, low-income assistance, the latest available enrollment data, and Part D program spending and financing.
Premiums for Employer-Sponsored Family Health Coverage Rise 5% to Average $19,616; Single Premiums Rise 3% to $6,896
1 in 5 Large Employers Gather Data from Workers’ Mobile Apps, FitBits or Other Wearable Devices San Francisco, Calif. – Annual family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 5 percent to average $19,616 this year, extending a seven-year run of moderate increases, finds the 2018 benchmark Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health…
Employer Health Benefits Annual Survey Archives
The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust have conducted this annual survey since 1999. The archives of the Employer Health Benefits Survey include these surveys and a small business supplement of the 1998 survey conducted by the Foundation. The survey was previously conducted by KPMG from…
2018 Employer Health Benefits Survey
Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $19,616 this year, up 5% from last year, with workers on average paying $5,547 toward the cost of their coverage. The average deductible among covered workers in a plan with a general annual deductible is $1,573 for single coverage. Fifty-six percent of small firms and 98% of large firms offer health benefits to at least some of their workers, with an overall offer rate of 57%.
