8.2 Percent of Adults Do Not Take Meds as Prescribed Due to Cost

Likelihood of not taking medication as prescribed due to cost increased for women versus men and for those with disabilities

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, June 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) — In 2021, 8.2 percent of adults aged 18 to 64 years taking prescription medications reported not taking medication as prescribed due to cost, according to a June data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Laryssa Mykyta, Ph.D., and Robin A. Cohen, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, examined the characteristics of adults aged 18 to 64 years who took prescription medication in the past 12 months and reported cost-related medication nonadherence.

The researchers found that in 2021, 8.2 percent of adults aged 18 to 64 years who took prescription medication in the past 12 months reported not taking medication as prescribed due to cost, with women more likely than men to not take medication as prescribed (9.1 versus 7.0 percent). Adults with versus those without disabilities were more likely to not take medication as prescribed to reduce costs (20.0 versus 7.1 percent). Compared with adults with other health coverage, Medicaid, or private health insurance, uninsured adults were more likely to not take medication as prescribed due to cost. The likelihood of not taking medication as prescribed to reduce costs was increased for adults without prescription drug coverage versus those with public or private prescription drug coverage.

“Although the average price per prescription remained flat between 2020 and 2021, the number of retail prescriptions grew, with out-of-pocket spending for prescription medications increasing by 4.8 percent,” the authors write.