Americans Abandon 98 Million Prescriptions Annually Due to Cost, Finds New RxUtility Report

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RxUtility’s “2025 Medication Affordability Benchmark Report” shows patients starting new therapy abandon 98 million prescriptions due to their unexpected high costs. There are often more affordable options, yet most patients have no easy way to find them.

“Our healthcare system has a price transparency problem,” said Miriam Paramore, CEO and Founder of RxUtility, a healthcare technology company which makes medications affordable through real-time copay assistance and pricing transparency. “Patients walk away from the pharmacy counter because no one has shown them the real price or the real savings. When we embed price transparency and copay assistance solutions into everyday workflows, people stop abandoning their prescriptions because they finally know the lowest price.”

The report underscores how the lack of drug price transparency affects patients managing chronic and complex conditions. For example, asthma patients, who already face more than $5 billion in annual medication expenses, often struggle to afford critical specialty treatments like Dupixent, a biologic primarily used to treat eczema. The drug can cost $3,300 to $5,000 per month without financial assistance. With a manufacturer copay program, eligible patients can bring their costs down significantly to as little as $0.

Much of the country’s available savings are simply not reaching patients. RxUtility identified 1,298 manufacturer copay programs, including 1,012 for drugs with no generic equivalent, that offer $30 billion in consumer savings each year.

At the same time, consumers face rising financial barriers, driving more patients toward cost-saving behaviors like dose-skipping and pill-splitting. Other findings:

• 60 percent of prescriptions with copays over $500 are abandoned
• Specialty drug costs increased more than 23 percent
• Copay coupons cover an average of 85 percent of a drug’s cost

Despite the financial pain most people feel from healthcare costs, 93 percent of the copay offers go unused, totaling $27.9 billion in missed savings each year.

As a result, more patients are turning to cash pricing as an alternative, which now accounts for 8-12 percent of specialty prescriptions.

“Technology is a crucial part of the solution,” Paramore said. “Real-time technology that connects prescribing, dispensing and medication adherence systems is poised to transform drug affordability in 2026 by surfacing copay savings, and ensuring patients see their options before they ever face the counter.”

About RxUtility

RxUtility provides healthcare technology purpose-built to make medications affordable for consumers. RxUtility is the only company to connect providers, pharmacists, employers, payers and digital health partners with real-time copay assistance through its AI-powered platform. By embedding prescription affordability and transparency in these tech workflows, RxUtility reduces patient payment confusion, drives medication adherence and ensures equitable access to prescription drugs. Learn more at www.rxutility.com.