The trend: Prescription drug prices, along with other healthcare costs like hospital services and nursing homes, are growing faster than overall inflation, but slower than consumer costs like housing, food, and coffee, per GoodRx Research’s latest data.

Digging into the details: Drug prices have increased 38.5% over the past 10 years, but still rank in the middle of consumer category price changes GoodRx tracks.

• For context: Overall prices for goods and services grew by 37% since 2014.
• Over the past 10 years, the price increase for prescription drugs is similar to the price increases for general medical care (up 39.5%) and personal care products (up 35.4%).
• Rx price increases were outpaced by the cost of rent (up 60.8%) and both inpatient services (up 58.8%) and outpatient hospital services (up 58.2%) over the last decade.
• Meanwhile, food costs increased 43.5%.
• Over-the-counter medicine prices increased at the smallest rate (up 11.1%), followed by apparel (up 4.4%) in the 10-year period.

Zooming out: Prescription costs increased most significantly between 2014-2017, from 2% in Jan. 2014 to 25% by Dec. 2017. List prices have since leveled off to 3% to 4% increases per year since.

Why it matters: Consumers are concerned about increasing health costs and especially resent high drug prices.

• 67% of Americans who fill prescriptions say the cost of their medication is a burden, per a GoodRx survey in June.
• 30% of people cut back on spending on food or clothing to pay for prescriptions.
• 1 in 5 reported rationing medication because of cost.

The takeaway: While GoodRx’s data shows rent, food, and hospital costs rose faster than prescription drug prices, consumers are still particularly critical about the cost of medicine. That’s thanks in part to political narratives and extensive media coverage, but not something marketers can easily shift.

Drugmakers shouldn’t offer up defensive price comparisons, because consumers don’t view health costs the same way they view other expenses. For example, the cost of a home is considered a necessity, while drug costs are viewed as expensive extras for health conditions people are saddled with.

Pharma marketers need to use empathy to connect with the growing group of underinsured consumers. They should be transparent about prices and acknowledge the frustration consumers feel around the complexity of the US healthcare and insurance system, while proactively highlighting help offered for consumers, such as financial assistance, savings tools, and patient support programs.

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