AARP WATCHDOG Report shows drug prices continue to
soar
WASHINGTON, March 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Brand
name prescription drug prices continue to rise at
about twice the rate of inflation, according to the
latest AARP Watchdog Report.
AARP's Watchdog Report found that ten of the brand name drugs
it tracks increased at least four times the rate of
general inflation during 2006.
Ambien led the pack with a 29.7 percentage increase in manufacturer
price, followed by Combivent at 18.3 percent and
Atrovent Inhaler at 16.9 percent.
"The report highlights that drug prices continue to skyrocket,"
said David Sloane, Senior Managing Director,
Government Relations & Advocacy.
"Over time escalating drug prices will make Medicare drug plans
unaffordable for older Americans. One way to address
high drug prices is to take full advantage of
Medicare's bargaining power and allow Medicare to
negotiate lower drug prices."
Bob Elliott, a 75-year-old retiree from Kentucky, enrolled in a
Medicare drug plan in 2006 after losing retiree
prescription drug coverage from his former employer.
He takes six prescriptions daily and by July 2006
reached the coverage gap, also known as the "donut
hole" at which time he began paying full price for
his medications. Only two of his medications are
available in a generic version.
"It was real sticker shock," said Elliot. "I went from paying a
co-payment to full price. My out-of pocket expenses
on drugs alone in six months reached $2,000.
Prescription drug prices are too high and hit older
Americans' wallets the hardest."
As brand name drug prices continue to rise more and more Americans
can expect a similar fate.
AARP strongly supports several legislative measures to put downward
pressure on prescription drug prices. Initiatives
AARP support: include urging Congress to act this
year to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices;
legalizing the safe importation of prescription
drugs from abroad; and permitting generic versions
of biologic drugs to be brought to market.
"We need to send a loud and clear message to the
pharmaceutical industry that Americans cannot afford
to continue to pay the highest prices for
prescription drugs in the world," continued Sloane.
The Watchdog Report shows that nearly 200 of the most commonly used
brand name drugs for older adults rose 6.2 percent
in 2006, nearly twice the general rate of inflation,
which was 3.2 percent. 2006 also marked the first
year that the new Medicare drug benefit was in
effect.
In contrast, manufacturer list prices in 2006 for 75
generic drugs tracked by AARP's Watchdog Report fell
by 2.0 percent. This continues a downward trend for
manufacturer price increases for already
lower-priced generic drugs that began in 2003.