By Kimberly Lankford
From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
Prescription drug costs have risen significantly over the past several years. Among drugs that went up in price from January 2022 to January 2023, the average increase was 15.2 percent, and it was 11.5 percent the previous year, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A Commonwealth Fund study found that 14 percent of Medicare beneficiaries didn’t fill a prescription or skipped a dose of their medication because of the cost. “The inability to afford the prescription you need could have long-term implications on your health outcomes,” says Gretchen Jacobson, vice president of Medicare for the Commonwealth Fund.
