More than 9 million American adults aren't taking their medications as prescribed in an effort to reduce costs, according to a new CDC report.

Report details

For the report, CDC collected data through the 2021 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey of the U.S. population conducted continuously throughout the year by the National Center for Health Statistics.

The survey found that around 60% of adults ages 18 and over reported taking at least one prescription medication in 2021, with 36% reporting taking at least three prescription medications. Of those who took at least one prescription medication, CDC found that 8.2%, or roughly 9.2 million people, reported skipping doses, taking less than prescribed, or delaying a prescription fill to save money.

The report also found significant disparities among those in fair or poor health and those with disabilities compared to those in excellent, very good, or good health and those without disabilities.

According to the report, adults with disabilities were almost three times more likely than those without disabilities to alter their medication use to save money.

CDC also found that people at less than 100% of the federal poverty line and the uninsured were significantly more likely to not take their medication as prescribed to save money. Uninsured people were 3.5 times more likely to not take their medication as prescribed than those with private insurance.

The report noted that, while average drug prices didn't change between 2020 and 2021, the number of retail prescriptions increased, and out-of-pocket costs on retail drugs rose 4.8% to $63 billion in 2021.

According to the report, skipping or reducing doses or delaying a prescription fill "may make health conditions worse, result in more serious illness, and require additional expensive treatment, and therefore have implications for health and the costs of care." (Moreno, Axios, 6/2; McPhillips, CNN, 6/2)