Rise in Drug Prices Well Outpaces Overall Inflation
WASHINGTON -- Brand-name prescription-drug prices are rising much faster than the overall rate of inflation, hitting senior citizens hard before they have access to a federal drug benefit, according to two consumer groups.</br></br>Prices of the 30 drugs most popular among seniors rose more than four times the rate of general inflation from Jan. 2003 to Jan. 2004, said consumer-advocacy group Families USA. Some rose more. Pfizer Inc.'s cholesterol-lowering Lipitor and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s Plavix for blood clots increased more than five times inflation during the period reviewed by the report.</br></br>The biggest increase -- at 13.2 times inflation -- came in the price of chronic asthma treatment Combivent by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. Evista, an osteoporosis drug by Eli Lilly & Co., rose more than 10 times the rate of inflation.</br></br>A separate report commissioned by the retiree-advocate group AARP found the prices drug makers charged wholesalers for 197 medications rose nearly 28% from 2000 to 2003, while inflation was 9.3%. Such increases, if passed on to consumers, translate to an average spending increase of $101 in 2000 and $181 last year, for a person taking three medications, the report said.</br></br>The price data renew the attention on high prescription-drug prices, an issue of huge concern to seniors who must wait until 2006 to get drug coverage from the federal Medicare program.