2026 State of Drug Access Report
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4th Annual Survey — 1,000+ insured U.S. consumers surveyed in December 2025
Drug affordability now determines how people experience care, not just how much they pay.
Key Findings from the Executive Summary
This white paper examines how insured U.S. consumers experience prescription drug pricing at the point of care and how those experiences shape behavior, trust, and downstream risk. The findings reveal a durable pattern: affordability stress is widespread, persistent, and no longer confined to high-cost or specialty drugs.
- ~80% of insured consumers experience sticker shock below $250
- 42.6% were prescribed a drug too expensive in the last 12 months
- 83.9% want providers to automatically switch to the lowest-cost option
- 55.6% don’t trust they’re paying the lowest available price
- 16.4% leave prescriptions unfilled or ration medication
- ~40% report prior authorization delays or denials
What Consumers Want
Consumers consistently express a preference for a different model. More than 80 percent want providers to automatically select lower-cost options when clinically appropriate. The data shows affordability performs best when handled inside care delivery—before prescriptions reach the pharmacy counter—rather than shifted to patients after the fact.
Price Transparency
A majority of respondents find it difficult to predict their final out-of-pocket cost, and more than half do not trust that they are paying the lowest available price.
Consumer Behavior
Nearly half of consumers contact their physician to request a lower-cost alternative. 16% report leaving prescriptions unfilled or rationing medication.
Trend Analysis
Four consecutive years of survey data reveal stable, structural patterns: affordability pressure is constant, and trust is migrating from plans to physicians.
