AARP Report Finds Brand Prices Rising Faster Than Inflation
Wholesale prices of common brand drugs are rising much faster than the rate of inflation, concludes an AARP report, which was promptly countered by PhRMA officials, who contend that drug prices are growing at a slower rate than overall healthcare costs.
The average manufacturer price of 195 brand drugs used by Americans aged 50 and older increased by 7.1 percent in 2004, compared to a general inflation rate of 2.7 percent, according to AARP's "Rx Watchdog Report."
Last year's increase was the largest in the past five years, the report says. Since 1999, the manufacturers of approximately 150 brand drugs have raised their prices more than two-and-a-half times the rate of general inflation, the report says. Drug prices on average have increased 35.1 percent during this period, compared to an inflation rate of 13.5 percent, AARP adds.
At the top end, the price of Wyeth's hormone replacement therapy Premarin (conjugated estrogen) jumped by 26.2 percent last year, making it the drug with the highest percentage change in manufacturer price, according to AARP. At the other end of the spectrum, AstraZeneca's ulcer drug Prilosec (omeprazole) -- which is available in both generic and OTC forms -- was the only drug not to have a price increase, the report notes.
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