News From the End of Life: Drug prices rose dramatically — study
The prices of the 50 drugs prescribed most often for senior citizens rose by nearly three times the rate of inflation last year on average, according to a report released by Families USA, a consumer advocate group based in Washington, DC.
The study, titled "Bitter Pill," analyzed price increases for the 50 most commonly prescribed drugs for seniors for the last year (January 2001 to January 2002), for the past five years, and for the past 10 years. The report found that the prices of nearly three-quarters (36 out of 50) of these drugs rose at least 1.5 times the rate of inflation last year, while more than one-third (18 of 50) rose three or more times the rate of inflation.
The Families USA report also compared price increases of generic drugs vs. brand-name drugs. The report showed that brand-name drug prices rose 4.5 times faster than the rate of price increases for generic drugs — 8.1% vs. 1.8%.
Other highlights of the report include:
- 10 of the 50 most prescribed drugs for seniors are generics. The average annual price for those drugs was $375. Nine of those 10 drugs did not increase in price at all.
- The 40 brand-name drugs on the list had an average annual price of $1,106 — three times that of generics. All but three of the brand-name drugs rose in price last year.
A spokeswoman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in Washington, DC, disputed the report, saying that Families USA was issuing "more misleading statements to confuse the facts. . . . On the issue of drug prices, Families USA ignores the fact the retail prices of the same medicine can vary by more than 100% within a few city blocks," says spokeswoman Jackie Cottrell.
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