Spotlight on Drug Pricing
Millions of Americans can’t afford their prescription drugs and often resort to skipping doses or going without critical medications. Poor medication adherence, in turn, negatively impacts people’s health.
Our Work
AIR works with clients at the federal, state, and local levels to identify and implement policies to reduce the cost burden of prescription drugs for patients. Our multidisciplinary team combines expertise in pharmacy, pharmaceutical policy, pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics to conduct research on drug pricing and evaluations of initiatives to improve medication-related outcomes among diverse populations. Clients include the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Food and Drug Administration, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and state and local government agencies. For example, AIR provides subject matter expertise for the drug pricing algorithm and process development for Medicare coverage tools to assist beneficiaries with selecting prescription drug plans.
Other projects include developing performance metrics to rate organizations providing the Medicare Part D drug benefit; providing technical implementation support for new models of medication therapy management; and assessing variation in formulary coverage and utilization management restrictions—prior authorization, step therapy, and quantity limits—of high-cost drugs across Medicaid, Medicare Part D, and commercial payers.
