Outpatient
spending on prescription drugs increased to
$191B in 2004, AHRQ finds…Costs for Individuals
65 and over Increase 130 Percent
May 23, 2007--Outpatient prescription drug
spending increased from $72 billion in 1997 to
$191 billion in 2004, according to a report
recently released by the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,
CQ
HealthBeat
reports.
The report, which included data on individuals
who live in the community and not institutions
such as nursing homes, indicated that average
annual prescription drug spending for
individuals ages 65 and older increased by 130%
to $1,914 in 2004 from $819 in 1997.
In addition, the report found that average
annual out-of-pocket prescription drug spending
for individuals ages 65 and older more than
doubled to $1,027 in 2004 from $483 in 1997. The
report also found that average annual
prescription drug spending for individuals
younger than age 65 increased by 140% to $838 in
2004 from $347 in 1997 and that average annual
out-of-pocket spending for those individuals
increased to $304 from $143 over the same period
(CQ
HealthBeat, 5/22).
Broadcast Coverage
In related news, American Public Media's "Marketplace"
on Tuesday reported on factors that
contribute to the cost of prescription drugs
in the U.S. The segment includes comments
from Chris Milne, associate director of the
Tufts Center for the Study of Drug
Development;
Mark Ravera, an analyst at
Strategic Pharma;
Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of the
Biotechnology Industry Organization;
Jerry Avorn, an author and professor at
Harvard Medical School;
and Gail Shearer, director of health policy
analysis at
Consumers Union
(Palmer, "Marketplace," American Public
Media, 5/22).
Audio
and a transcript of the segment are
available
online.
