Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1336

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Publication type: news

Anderson K.
Prices Of Most Popular Drugs For Seniors Rose Nearly Three-And-One-Half Times The Rate Of Inflation Last Year: Prices of 27 of the Top 50 Drugs Sold to Seniors Rose More Than Three Times the Rate of Inflation
Families USA 2003 Jul 9
http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/newsroom/press-releases/2002-press-releases/press-release-popular-prescription-drugs-for-seniors-rose-three-times-the-rate-of-inflation-last-year.html

Full text:

Washington, DC—The prices of the 50 most-prescribed drugs to senior citizens rose, on average, nearly three-and-one-half times the rate of inflation last year, according to a new report released today by Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers.

Among the top 50 drugs sold to seniors, more than half (27) rose in price at least three times the rate of inflation from January 2002 to January 2003, according to the report. Nearly three-quarters (37 out of 50) of the drugs rose in price at least one-and-one-half times the rate of inflation. The drugs that experienced the fastest-growing price increases in the past year were the following:

Claritin, an antihistamine, rose nearly 12 times the rate of inflation.
Klor-Con 10, a potassium replacement, rose more than 11 times the rate of inflation.
Miacalcin, an osteoporosis treatment, rose more than 10 times the rate of inflation.
Premarin, an estrogen replacement, rose nearly 10 times the rate of inflation.
Atenolol, a generic beta-blocker, rose more than 9 times the rate of inflation.
Toprol XL, a beta blocker, rose more than 9 times the rate of inflation.
“These alarming price increases continue to eat away at the fixed incomes of senior citizens, especially those low-income seniors who make up one-third of those in Medicare and who can least afford to pay for their medicines,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.

The report also revealed that the following brand-name drugs were the six drugs most frequently prescribed drugs to seniors: Lipitor ($871 annual cost), Norvasc ($549 per year), Fosamax ($894 per year), Plavix ($1,539 per year), Prilosec ($1,684 per year), and Celebrex ($2,102 per year).

Among the top 50 drugs sold to seniors, the report found that 38 were on the market for at least five years. Of these, more than three-quarters (29 out of 38) rose in price two or more times the rate of inflation, and over one-third (13 out of 38) increased in price four or more times the rate of inflation during this five-year period.

“Year after year, as drug prices rise much faster than inflation, more and more seniors are forced to go without much-needed medications,” said Pollack. “The millions of low-income seniors, who subsist on Social Security checks that rise no faster than inflation, can no longer afford skyrocketing drug prices. Congress must act now to provide real relief to them.”

Of the 50 top prescribed drugs, the most expensive as of January 2003, were the following:

Combivent, which treats asthma and other respiratory conditions, costs $10,868 per year.
Miacalcin, an osteoporosis treatment, costs $7,132 per year.
Celebrex, an anti-inflammatory/analgesic, costs $2,102 per year.
The Families USA study compared last year’s price increases for generic versus brand-name drugs. It found that 15 of the top 50 drugs sold to seniors were generic drugs, and 35 were brand-name drugs. On average, prices for generics rose by 2.6 percent, and prices for brand-name drugs rose by 7.1 percent-almost three times as quickly. Nine of the 15 generic drugs did not increase in price last year, while only three of the 35 brand-name drugs did not increase in price.

“The bill that recently passed the Senate can provide significant relief for the millions of low-income seniors most in need of help,” said Pollack. “Unfortunately, the opposite is true about the House-passed bill, which provides very meager help for low-income seniors and will keep drugs unaffordable.”

This report was compiled from data provided by the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) program, the largest outpatient prescription drug program for older Americans in the United States. Using PACE claims for 2002, Families USA, with assistance from the PRIME Institute at the University of Minnesota, identified the 50 top-selling prescription drugs used by senior citizens.