CNBC Special Report: How Soaring U.S. Drug Prices Fueled What Feds Call An Illegal Import Of Medications 11/27/25

<p>Around the country, a pervasive question being asked: How can I afford my prescription drugs? The high cost of those medications, particularly very expensive drugs to treat serious diseases like multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis, have fueled a nationwide business in which insurance programs are using companies called “alternative funding programs” or AFPs that promise to get these medications at little or no cost to the patient. “RiskyRX,” a CNBC investigation, found AFPs are becoming more pervasive around the country as drug costs skyrocket.</p><p>CNBC submitted nearly 100 public records requests and sorted through more than 10,000 pages of contracts, emails, invoices and complaints that show these companies have penetrated the country’s health-care system through private employers, cities, counties, school districts and unions. In some cases, employers require their staff to use an AFP. CNBC traced the trail of medications from abroad to the U.S. via a supply chain that’s not...