Research Type: Policy Paper

Unsupported Price Increases Occurring in 2021

Dec 2022 | Policy Paper

The price of many existing drugs, both brand and generic, can increase substantially over time, and questions are frequently raised regarding whether these price increases are justified. State policymakers have been particularly active in seeking measures to address this issue. In 2019, we launched a new line of ICER reports, named Unsupported Price Increase (UPI) reports, […]

Unsupported Price Increases Occurring in 2020 in California

Oct 2022 | Policy Paper

This California Unsupported Price Increase final report is based on drugs identified through SB-17, the California drug price transparency law. ICER found that increases in spending for many drugs under the SB-17 law may be primarily due to increased volume rather than increases in net price. Final Documents ICER’s Chief Medical Officer David Rind, MD […]

Value Assessment and International Reference Pricing

Sep 2021 | Policy Paper

The need to improve drug affordability remains one of the few areas of bipartisan agreementin the US, with polling showing that a majority of both Democrats and Republicans want thefederal government to act to lower prescription drug prices. Policymakers from both partieshave advanced proposals to rein in drug costs, but there is no consensus on […]

Fair Access: Coverage Policies in 2020

Dec 2021 | Policy Paper

In September 2020, ICER published the white paper: “Cornerstones of ‘Fair’ Drug Coverage: Appropriate Cost-Sharing and Utilization Management Policies for Pharmaceuticals.” This paper analyzes the ethical and practical dimensions of insurance coverage policy, while presenting a corresponding set of criteria that will support a more transparent discussion among all health care stakeholders about whether specific […]

Strengthening the FDA’s Accelerated Approval Pathway

Apr 2021 | Policy Paper

This paper aims to create a clearer understanding of both the opportunities and challenges inherent in the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway (AAP), and to present an analysis of the potential risks and benefits of a range of reform options that policymakers may consider in efforts to strengthen the AAP moving forward.    Date of publication: […]

Unsupported Price Increases Occurring in 2020

Nov 2021 | Policy Paper

The price of many existing drugs, both brand and generic, can increase substantially over time, and questions are frequently raised regarding whether these price increases are justified. State policymakers have been particularly active in seeking measures to address this issue. For example, both California and Vermont now have laws tracking substantial drug price increases, requiring drug manufacturers […]

Alternative Policies for Pricing Novel Vaccines and Drug Therapies for COVID-19

Jul 2020 | Policy Paper

ICER’s white paper provides a brief overview of approaches to manage the pricing of novel vaccines and treatments in times of public health emergencies. After summarizing the experiences and lessons learned from previous epidemics and the annual flu vaccine, the paper analyzes the potential advantages and disadvantages of six alternative approaches to pricing that policymakers from […]

Cornerstones of ‘Fair’ Drug Coverage

Sep 2020 | Policy Paper

The purpose of the white paper is to analyze the ethical and practical dimensions of insurance coverage policy, while presenting a corresponding set of criteria that will support a more transparent discussion among all health care stakeholders about whether specific cost sharing and utilization management policies are delivering “fair” patient access to prescription drugs. Date […]

Indication-specific pricing: pharmaceuticals in the United States health care system 

Dec 2015 | Policy Paper

The 2015 ICER Policy Summit convened an influential group of evidence policy leaders from insurers, pharmacy benefit management firms, and life science companies to discuss indication-specific pricing (ISP) of biopharmaceuticals and to explore the opportunities and challenges of ISP in the US health care system. Date of review: December 2015 For more information, please contact […]

Gene Therapy: Understanding the Science, Assessing the Evidence, and Paying for Value 

Dec 2016 | Policy Paper

This white paper was developed following a December 2016 meeting of ICER’s membership program, during which leaders from 20 payer and manufacturer organizations convened to share their perspectives on the future of gene therapy. The paper explores the scientific frontier being opened up by emerging gene therapies, with the potential for curing or substantially improving the […]