A new report has revealed how prescription drug price hikes are disproportionately affecting Black patients.
The advocacy group Patients for Affordable Drugs released a report this month disclosing that pharmaceutical companies have increased prices on at least 1,000 prescription drugs this year, with about half of the increases exceeding the rate of inflation.
The report highlighted that one in three Americans cannot afford their prescription drugs. Black and Latino patients aged 65 and over are particularly impacted, with these groups being twice as likely to report difficulties affording their medications.
RELATED STORIES
Among the drugs affected by these price hikes is Enhertu, a treatment for HER2-negative breast cancer, a less aggressive form of cancer found mostly in Black women, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Since its launch in 2019, its manufacturers, Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca, have raised the price of Enhertu eight times, with the latest increase in July bringing the cost to over $2,800 per month. Revlimid, a drug used to treat multiple myeloma, has also seen a 7% price hike, now costing more than $89,000 per month. Black Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with and die from multiple myeloma, the report notes.
While the wholesale acquisition cost for Enhertu does “not necessarily reflect the prices paid by consumers, payers or dispensers,” a spokesperson for Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca told NBC News. Similarly, a Bristol Myers Squibb spokesperson justified the price increase for Revlimid, citing its “clinical benefit” and other economic factors, while also emphasizing that most patients don’t pay the full list price due to support programs.
Merith Basey, executive director of Patients for Affordable Drugs, explained that pharmaceutical companies typically raise drug prices twice a year, and the U.S. has no regulations to limit these increases. She described the affordability crisis as one that affects most Americans but disproportionately harms people of color.
“Black and Latino families are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions and cancers requiring long-term, expensive medications,” Basey said. “This disparity is linked to well-documented racial inequalities in health care due to systemic racism.”
Basey added that Black Americans are more likely to experience chronic pain, diabetes, and high blood pressure, and not having access to necessary medications can lead to long-term complications. In some tragic cases, people unable to afford their insulin have died prematurely, she said.
Carrol Olinger, a 54-year-old resident of Hope Mills, North Carolina, shared her struggle to afford medication for chronic conditions, including Type 1 diabetes, high blood pressure, and end-stage renal failure. Despite having Medicare, she spends up to $300 a month on medications. Two years ago, when she was uninsured for nearly five months, she had to ration her insulin and blood pressure medication, wiping out her savings and borrowing money from friends and family to survive.
“I had a headache every day,” Olinger said. “I just felt drained and tired—and then on top of all that, I was emotional for no reason.” She began to wonder if she would survive.
Advocacy groups like Patients for Affordable Drugs and Health Care for America Now are campaigning for policies to lower the financial burden on patients. Both organizations supported the Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Joe Biden, which aims to reduce prescription drug prices.
Margarida Jorge, executive director of Health Care for America Now, described the disproportionate impact of high drug prices on people of color as “a form of systemic racism.” She cited the lack of affordable treatment for sickle cell anemia, a condition that affects one in 13 Black babies in the U.S., as an example.
“We’ve known about sickle cell anemia for years,” Jorge said, “but there hasn’t been enough focus on developing an affordable cure, largely because it’s a ‘Black disease.’”
With the upcoming presidential election, Jorge expressed concern that a new administration could bring significant changes to Medicare and Medicaid, both federal programs vital to many.
“It’s always a priority for us to protect and expand these programs,” she said.
Olinger has benefited from the Biden administration’s insulin price cap of $35 but noted that the cost of other essential items, like diabetic test strips, has increased. Without insurance, her diabetic pen needles, which currently cost $57, would cost $1,000.
“If I didn’t have insurance, I’d either be dead or a thief,” Olinger said.
Meanwhile, Basey and her organization continue to push for policies like S.142, which would prevent pharmaceutical companies from paying generic drugmakers to delay releasing cheaper versions of their drugs. Passing affordable drug policies, Basey stressed, would prevent Black patients from having to choose between “paying for their medications or putting food on the table.”
“These are ordinary people asking for basic dignity when they get sick,” she said. “They shouldn’t have to worry about how they’re going to afford their medications.”
READ ALSO: How this Black genealogist helped Black Americans to uncover their family histories
