California released data showing drug prices rose about four times faster than the rate of inflation annually since 2017.
Drug prices in the state rose by 8 percent annually from 2017 to the first quarter of 2019. The annual inflation rate each year during that same time period was about 2 percent.
The data showed that wholesale prices for generic drugs increased 37.6 percent over the three-year period, while brandname drug prices increased 25.7 percent.
In 2017, California passed a law requiring drugmakers to report and justify their price increases.The law requires drugmakers to give states information and explanation when increasing prices by more than 16 percent.
According to STAT, many of the pharmaceutical companies did not provide explanations for their price increases. Under the price transparency law, failing to report a drug price increase comes with a penalty of $1,000 a day, but withholding an explanation has no punishment.
Read the full report here.