The prices of some of your medicines are about to go up. Pfizer said on Friday that it will be raising the prices of…
The prices of some of your medicines are about to go up.
Pfizer said on Friday that it will be raising the prices of 41 drugs, or 10 percent of its product portfolio, in January.
The pharmacy giant indicated in a release that the increase for most of the affected drugs would be 5 percent, though three products will see a 3 percent rise, and one will climb 9 percent due “to the completion of two extensive development programs that have led to the recent FDA approvals of two new medical uses that meet unmet patient needs.”
Reached by USA TODAY, a Pfizer spokesperson would not name the drugs that will be priced higher. The increases go into effect on January 15,2019.
There’s a bit of history here. Pfizer had announced price hikes in early July but backed off, at least for awhile, after President Trump tweeted that “Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason.”
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Pfizer said it expects list prices “to be offset by higher rebates and discounts paid to Insurance Companies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers” and said the net effect on the company’s revenue growth in the U. S. in 2019 is expected to be zero.
“We believe the best means to address affordability of medicines is to reduce the growing out-of-pocket costs that consumers are facing due to high deductibles and co-insurance, and ensure that patients receive the benefit of rebates at the pharmacy counter,” Pfizer chairman and CEO Ian Read said in a statement.
“… Drug companies raising their prices and offsetting them with higher rebates benefits everyone but the consumer, who routinely pays out of pocket based on list price,” wrote Caitlin Oakley, a department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman, in a statement to USA TODAY. “President Trump and Secretary Azar remain committed to lowering drug prices and reducing out of pocket costs, and will continue to take bold action to restructure this broken market.”
Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow USA TODAY Personal Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter
