The cost of prescription medications is causing a significant number of Americans to delay prescriptions, shop around for prices or change how they take their medications, according to several recent surveys.

A new survey commissioned by health-care technology company Model N found 35 percent of U.S. adults said uncertainty about what a prescription would cost had caused them to delay picking it up, leave the pharmacy without it or stretch the medication by skipping or reducing doses.

The survey also found 46 percent of respondents do not consistently know what a prescription will cost before arriving at the pharmacy.

Overall, 58 percent reported taking at least one action to control costs because of prescription price uncertainty.

The survey was conducted by Dynata in August and included 1,000 online responses from adults age 25 and older across the United States.

Other recent polling points to similar concerns.

KFF polling conducted earlier this year found 43 percent of U.S. adults said they had not taken medication as prescribed during the previous 12 months because of cost.

That included 31 percent who substituted an over-the-counter medication rather than filling a prescription, 27 percent who did not fill a prescription and 19 percent who cut pills in half or skipped doses.

KFF also found the problem was more common among lower- and middle-income households. Fifty-two percent of adults with household incomes below $40,000 reported taking at least one of those steps because of cost, compared with 30 percent of those earning $90,000 or more.

Prescription shoppers are also becoming more active about comparing prices.

The Model N survey found 72 percent of respondents had used at least one method to check the cost of a prescription. Thirty-five percent had contacted a local pharmacy, 25 percent used a price-comparison website or app and 24 percent checked with their insurance company.

Forty percent said they were more likely to check prescription prices before pickup than they were one year ago.

The survey also found considerable confusion surrounding pharmacy benefit managers, commonly known as PBMs. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they either had never heard of PBMs or had heard the term but did not know what they do.

PBMs work with health plans and pharmacies to administer prescription benefits, negotiate drug prices and rebates and determine which medications are included on insurance formularies.

The Federal Trade Commission has also been examining the industry. The agency says the three largest PBMs administer about 80 percent of prescriptions in the United States and has challenged some of their insulin rebate practices. Those allegations remain part of an ongoing federal case.

The affordability issue is especially pronounced for some insulin users.

American Diabetes Association polling released in June found nearly 40 percent of respondents who rely on insulin reported paying more than $150 per month. One-third of respondents to that survey said health-care expenses had caused them to cut back on groceries.

Taken together, the surveys indicate prescription affordability remains an issue for many Americans, with some patients responding by shopping for lower prices and others delaying or changing their medication use.

The insulin numbers are wild: ADA found 72% of insulin users in its poll were paying more than $35 a month, nearly 40% were over $150, and one in three respondents said healthcare expenses had caused them to cut back on groceries.

And the independent KFF numbers are actually worse than the PR pitch: 43% said costs caused them not to take medication as prescribed, up from 33% in 2025 and 31% in 2023.

Sources: 
American Diabetes Association
KKF.ORG