Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) Increase Report Data – Current Year
Q1 was the only quarter in 2023 in which the median cumulative WAC percent increase for all drug price categories was below the yearly median (21.1 percent).
HCAI collects and publishes information on prescription drugs with a Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) increase exceeding a specified threshold.
The visualizations below include submitted WAC increase data from Q1 2023 through Q4 2023. These graphs display data that shows Median Cumulative WAC Percent Increase by WAC Price Category, Drug Source Type, or Both. The visualizations allow you to filter through the data by quarter.
- Learn more about the Prescription Drug Cost Transparency Program
- View other Prescription Drug Cost Transparency Public Reports
Median Percent Increase – WAC Price Category
Key Findings
- Q1 was the only quarter in 2023 in which the median cumulative WAC percent increase for all drug price categories was below the yearly median (21.1 percent).
- Q2 had three WAC categories that were above the yearly median of 21.1 percent; WAC<$250 (59 percent), WAC>$1,000 to $10,000 (21.7 percent), and WAC >$10,000 (27.6 percent).
- Q3 had three WAC categories that were above the yearly median of 21.1 percent; WAC<$250 (28.1 percent), WAC=$250 to 1,000 (28.6 percent), and WAC>$1,000 to $10,000 (22.5 percent).
- Prescription drugs with a WAC over $10,000 saw their highest reported median cumulative WAC percent increase of the year in Q2 (27.6 percent).
Median Percent Increase – Drug Source Type
Key Findings
- Non-Innovator Multiple Source prescription drugs is the only drug source type reporting an overall annual average percent increase (29.5 percent) higher than the yearly median (21.1 percent).
- Q1 had the smallest median cumulative WAC percent increase by Innovator Multiple Source Drugs (17.7 percent).
- Q3 is the only quarter in which all three drug source types were above the yearly median (21.1 percent).
- Q3 is the only quarter in which Non-Innovator Multiple Source Drugs did not see the largest median cumulative percent increase (26.7 percent). Instead, Innovator Multiple Source Drugs saw the largest median percent increase (32.3 percent).
Median Percent Increase – WAC Price Category & Drug Source Type
Key Findings
- Non-Innovator Multiple Source drugs with a WAC greater than $10,000 saw the largest median cumulative percent increase (63.2 percent).
- Innovator Multiple Source drugs with a WAC from $250 to $1,000 saw the smallest median cumulative percent increase (17.7 percent).
- Q2 and Q4 saw the greatest variance in median cumulative WAC percent increase across all price categories and drug source types.
How HCAI Created This Product
Prescription Drug WAC Increase data for 2023 from the Cost Transparency: Prescription Drug Program (CTRx).
Note: Reported increases that do not meet the statutory requirements for reporting and prescription drugs that do not meet the definition for reporting under the applicable California Regulations and Section 321(g) of Title 21 of the United States Code were not included in the visualizations. Submitted reports not meeting statutory requirements were 34 of 1,507 (2.3 percent) in 2023. In addition, approximately 58 percent of reports in 2023 did not include any reason(s) for the reported WAC increases due to the information not already being in the public domain.
Resources
Note:
- The 3-year median percent increase is based on submitted WAC increase data. The dataset is subject to reporting.
- The dataset includes only complete reports submitted by manufacturers for WAC increases made in 2023 and does not include reports that do not meet the specified minimum thresholds for reporting.
- Late WAC reports submitted after February 13, 2024, are not included in the dataset.
Additional Information
Topic: Cost Transparency
Source Link: Cost Transparency – Prescription Drug (Rx) Costs
Citation: HCAI – Prescription Drug Cost Transparency, 2023
Temporal Coverage: 2023
Spatial/Geographic Coverage: Statewide
Frequency: Annually