Measuring Drug Price Changes Through the Lens of Inflation
Data Analysis:
Growth Rates of Drug Prices Compared to US Inflation
As the focus on inflation in the United States has increased in recent years, pharmaceutical industry critics often cite increases in drug list prices as a major contributor to increases in medical expenditures. Our analysis compares growth rates in inflation and Medicare Part B drug prices from 2015-2022.
What you’ll learn in this fact sheet:
- Understanding average sales price (ASP)
- Why ASP is a more transparent and relevant metric than drug list prices in evaluating growth in US medical spend
- How inflation, medical spend, and ASP have grown from 2015-2022
- ASP across all Medicare Part B drugs has grown slower over time than inflation in the US
Download the data analysis summary to see how changes in drug prices since 2015 compare to growth of inflation.
