The Department of Health (MDH) recently released the Minnesota Prescription Drug Transparency: 2024 Report to the Minnesota Legislature (PDF). The report presents analysis of information reported to MDH through June 2023, provides a summary and timeline for the implementation of new work and assesses the Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act’s (the Act) progress toward statutory goals. Key findings from this report include:
- There is notable interest in public data on drug prices, including from health care payers in Minnesota. In 2023, MDH saw more than 6,500 visits to its web pages dedicated to prescription drug price transparency.
- Price increases of reportable drugs affect many Minnesotans. More than 75,000 people living in the state used these drugs in 2022. Collectively, the increases contributed to additional health care spending of more than $53.2 million in 2022.
- Overall, many pricing trends are in line with previous reports. However, one notable departure is that data show prices for new drug introductions increased significantly with many new drug products priced over $3 million.
- Among the most expensive drugs reported, the prices for these drugs in Minnesota were higher than prices for the same drugs internationally.
- Many drug manufacturers continue to be out of compliance with the full requirements of the Act. Approximately 33% of reports have not been submitted (99 distinct manufacturers are delinquent for 775 total reports), and all reports have data quality issues upon initial submission.
MDH will continue to release updates on implementation on the MDH Rx Price Transparency website. For questions, please email health.rx@state.mn.us.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.