The rising cost of prescription drugs is mostly falling to insurance companies and the government, while patients' out-of-pocket spending is holding steady.
Why it matters: This contradicts the narrative that the outrage over rising drug prices has intensified because consumers are shouldering more of those costs.
What pharma says: "The issue is really around, my perspective, that plans are systematically shedding risk as it relates to pharma and pharma costs," Steve Ubl, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, told Axios in an interview last month. "With regard to medicine, you’re exposed to a much higher degree of those out-of-pocket costs."
Between the lines: Overall, insurers and employers are shifting more costs onto employees through higher deductibles and copays. And even though they're absorbing the bulk of the increase in drug spending themselves, some consumers are paying significantly more.
Why now: The Affordable Care Act insured millions of new people and required insurance to cover prescription drugs, steering some people's costs away from out-of-pocket spending and into insurance premiums.
Yes, but: Experts say there are still plenty of reasons to be angry about drug costs.
