WASHINGTON – Brand-name prescription drug prices rose at more than three times the rate of overall inflation last year, two groups pressing for lower prices said in studies Tuesday.
The reports by the 35 million-member AARP and the consumer group Families USA said the gap between prices for prescription medicines and general inflation has widened in recent years, diminishing the purchasing power of older Americans who receive increases in Social Security based on the Consumer Price Index. The index is the government’s most closely watched inflation measure.
“If the price of drugs keeps going up faster than inflation, it will become more and more difficult for consumers, especially older consumers, to be able to afford them,” said John Rother, AARP’s policy director.
The increases also negate the value of the discounts available through Medicare’s new drug cards, said Ron Pollack, president of Families USA. “Over time, base prices have increased by a higher percentage than the discounts the administration is claiming,” he said.
The Bush administration has said the Medicare drug cards are offering savings of 10 percent to 17 percent on brand-name drugs. The card can be used beginning June 1.
The average price increase for the top 30 brand-name drugs used by older Americans was 6.5 percent last year, the Families USA report said. AARP’s study showed an average 6.9 percent price increase for nearly 200 drugs. Inflation in general was 1.9 percent.
Since 2000, the drug prices have risen 27.6 percent, AARP said. General inflation was 9.3 percent for the same period.
Prices increased between 6.9 percent and 9.9 percent last year for the five leading drugs in terms of sales – cholesterol-reducing Lipitor, the blood thinner Plavix, Fosamax for osteoporosis, the blood pressure drug Norvasc and Celebrex, a pain reliever – the Families USA study said.
Both studies looked at wholesale prices, reasoning that changes in those prices were reflected in costs at the retail level.
Jeff Trewhitt, a spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said the studies overstated the rate of inflation for prescription drugs and did not account for the industry’s substantial research and development costs.
Prices of prescription medicines have risen 4.4 percent on average in each of the past three years, slightly slower than medical inflation, Trewhitt said. “That’s a more accurate basis for comparison,” he said.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the Consumer Price Index, said prescription prices rose by only 2.5 percent last year, but that measure also includes generic drugs. The reports issued Tuesday excluded generic drugs.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
