Report: Over 800 Drugs Increase in Price in 2022

Every year in January, drug manufacturers update their drug prices, and 2022 has been no exception. As of January 26th, 852 individual prescription drugs saw an average price increase of 8.1% or $48.85. SingleCare, the free prescription savings service, examined the drugs that have seen the highest increases thus far in 2022 and the potential consumer impact.

“We’ve already seen hundreds of prescription medications that will be more expensive in 2022, with the majority being brand drugs, and the most expensive changes being for specialty medications,” said Ramzi Yacoub, Pharm. D., the chief pharmacy officer for SingleCare. “The silver lining is that consumers most commonly fill generics– about 90% of the time – and these drugs are typically far less expensive and with prices that remain relatively flat year over year.”

Dr. Yacoub continued, “While prices continue to rise, this year’s 5% increase is in line with recent years, particularly since the vow of many manufacturers to keep annual increases under 10%. While the manufacturer cost doesn’t directly translate to what the consumer pays at the pharmacy counter, the bottom line is that most consumers should not expect a substantial change in the price of their prescriptions, especially for those filling generic medications.”

According to a recent SingleCare survey, nearly half (47%) of Americans said that they’ve either skipped a prescription or a refill in the past year because the price of the drug was too expensive. SingleCare reviewed the highest dollar increase in January 2022 compared to the previous year based on the average wholesale price (AWP) set by the drug manufacturer to see which drugs saw the largest increases. 

Methodology

SingleCare’s drug pricing analysis tracks the individual drugs that saw an average wholesale price (AWP) change from Jan. 2022 compared to Jan. 2021. This excludes over-the-counter medications and medical devices. SingleCare has updated and reviewed this data as of Jan. 26, 2022. SingleCare will continue to update this report throughout January.