STAT+: How much? Hospitals mark up some medicines by 250% on average

As Americans grapple with the rising cost of prescription drugs, a new analysis found that some hospitals mark up prices on more than two dozen medicines by an average of 250%, underscoring the incentives to use more expensive brand-name treatments than lower-cost biosimilars.
For instance, hospitals charged more than five times the purchase price for Epogen, which is used to treat anemia caused by chronic kidney disease for patients on dialysis. And the price for Remicade, a rheumatoid arthritis medication, was raised 4.6 times above the purchase price, according to Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal, who examined newly released pricing data disclosed by 30 hospitals. Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…