What We’re Reading: Health Insurance Premiums; Drug Price Hikes; Postpartum Depression Pill Access

Health Insurance Premiums are Eating Into Workers’ Wages

A new study published in JAMA Network Open reported that families with workplace health insurance may have missed out on $125,000 in earnings over the past 3 decades due to rising premiums, according to Axios. On average, a workplace health plan cost $24,000 in 2023 for family coverage, with employers covering about three-quarters of the cost. Although employers typically bear the brunt of rising health insurance costs, the study showed that rising premiums are costing workers more as premium growth has outpaced wage growth. Low-income employees and people of color are impacted most as premiums do not vary based on income level, making them a larger percentage of total compensation for low-income workers, who are disproportionately people of color.

January’s Annual Drug Price Hikes, Decreases are Rolling In

The drug price nonprofit 46Brooklyn Research reported that there have been about 600 price hikes for medicines so far in January, according to NPR. Although drug companies often increase prices annually, the increases this year have not been as steep as those in previous years; in the 2010s, drug price hikes were up to 10% on average. 46Brooklyn Research reported that this year’s price increases were around a 5% increase. For the first time, there were also huge list price decreases this year as insulin and inhalers saw 70% and 80% reductions, respectively. These decreases are due to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act passed in 2021, which makes drugmakers pay high penalties for raising prices faster than inflation.

Experts Worry About At-Risk Women’s Access to New Postpartum Depression Pill

With the first FDA-approved postpartum depression pill now available, experts worry that minority and low-income people, who are disproportionately affected by the condition, will not be able to access it, according to The 19th. Suicide and drug overdoses are among the leading causes of pregnancy-related death, and Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous people—as well as low-income people—are more likely to be affected. Zuranolone, the first FDA-approved postpartum depression drug, reportedly acts faster than most antidepressants. Experts and advocates are urging state Medicaid agencies to make sure zuranolone, which is nearly $16,000 for the 2-week course, is accessible to low-income patients and people of color. In particular, they want Medicaid managed care plans and private insurers to waive any prior authorization requirements and other restrictions, such as “fail-first” approaches that require patients to try other drugs first.