Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs category; and cost less on average than other drugs in the category. Several of the Best Buys have been chosen because of their superior effectiveness or safety profile even though they may cost more. The project publishes Best Buy Drugs drug reports, the first three such reports covered Statins to reduce high cholesterol, heartburn drugs, and NSAIDs commonly used to treat arthritis. The project covers over 20 conditions and the most widely used drugs. The reports are published in web versions, and two-page PDF summaries in English and Spanish. More than half of all prescription drugs cause adverse effects—some serious
Specialty drugs in the United States patients and payers. Patients frequently have difficulty paying for these medications, which can lead to lack of access to treatment. Specialty drugs are now so expensive that they are leading to increases in insurance premiums. Control of specialty drug prices will require research to identify effective policy options, which may include: decreasing regulation, limiting patent protection, allowing negotiation of drug prices by Medicare, or pricing drugs based on their effectiveness. In the United States, private insurance payers will favour a lower-cost agent preferring generics and biosimilars to the more expensive specialty drugs if there is no peer-reviewed or evidence-based justification