Specialty Drug Prices Grew Substantially Between 2005 and 2013

According to AARP, the retail price of 98 specialty drugs widely used to treat chronic conditions rose dramatically between 2005 and 2013. As indicated in the graph, the annual retail price of therapy per drug increased from $18,240 in 2005 to $53,384 in 2013.

Recent polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 77 percent of Americans believe making medications affordable to people with chronic conditions is a top health care priority for politicians. And 72 percent said drug costs are unreasonable.

In November, California voters will weigh in on a ballot proposition intended to help control the cost of prescription drugs. Read Anna Gorman’s coverage.

Access the data.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>Specialty Drug Prices Grew Substantially Between 2005 and 2013</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2016-01-28T12:00:48-08:00">
			January 28, 2016		</time>
		</div>
<p>According to AARP, the retail price of 98 specialty drugs widely used to treat chronic conditions rose dramatically between 2005 and 2013. As indicated in the graph, the annual retail price of therapy per drug increased from $18,240 in 2005 to $53,384 in 2013.</p><p><a href="https://href.li/?https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-october-2015/">Recent polling</a> by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 77 percent of Americans believe making medications affordable to people with chronic conditions is a top health care priority for politicians. And 72 percent said drug costs are <a href="https://href.li/?https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-august-2015/">unreasonable</a>.</p><p>In November, California voters will weigh in on a ballot proposition intended to help control the cost of prescription drugs. <a href="http://californiahealthline.org/news/california-voters-will-have-their-say-on-drug-prices/">Read Anna Gorman’s coverage.</a></p><p><a href="http://www.aarp.org/ppi/info-2015/trends-in-retail-prices-of-specialty-drugs.html">Access the data.</a></p><ul><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/the-average-annual-price-of-specialty-drugs-grew-substantially-between-2005-and-2013/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/the-average-annual-price-of-specialty-drugs-grew-substantially-between-2005-and-2013/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/the-average-annual-price-of-specialty-drugs-grew-substantially-between-2005-and-2013/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Specialty%20Drug%20Prices%20Grew%20Substantially%20Between%202005%20and%202013&body=https%3A%2F%2Fcaliforniahealthline.org%2Fmultimedia%2Fthe-average-annual-price-of-specialty-drugs-grew-substantially-between-2005-and-2013%2F&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/the-average-annual-price-of-specialty-drugs-grew-substantially-between-2005-and-2013/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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