The Center for Innovation & Value Research is pleased to share a new commentary published in the AJMC® Contributor Column: “Prioritizing Patient-Centered Value Over International Reference Pricing in U.S. Drug Policy,” by Dominique Seo, MPH; Panos Kanavos, PhD; Eleanor M. Perfetto, PhD, MS; and Tiffany Huth, MPH.
As policymakers consider international reference pricing (IRP) and most-favored nation (MFN) models as tools to address high prescription drug costs, the authors examine the potential consequences of defining value based primarily on price comparisons.
The commentary outlines three central concerns:
- Misleading international price comparisons that rely on list prices and fail to account for differences in global health systems and confidential rebates
- Risks to timely patient access, particularly in a system where U.S. patients often receive new therapies earlier than those in countries using IRP
- The need to define value beyond price, incorporating clinical benefit, quality of life, caregiver burden, health equity, and broader societal impacts
Rather than importing pricing benchmarks from other systems, the authors argue that sustainable reform should focus on internal, evidence-based, patient-centered value frameworks that balance cost, access, and innovation.
This commentary reinforces the Center’s ongoing commitment to advancing value assessment approaches that reflect what matters most to patients and society.
Read the full article here.
