Two recent surveys of drug prices by consumer advocacy groups show a disturbing pattern of increases as the new Medicare drug benefit was getting under way. The surveys make it clear that health plans and individual consumers will need to be especially vigilant to keep spending on medications within reasonable bounds.
An analysis of 193 brand-name prescription drugs by AARP, which represents older Americans, found that their average wholesale prices increased 3.9 percent over the first three months of this year, almost four times the general inflation rate. Those increases will almost certainly drive up retail prices for consumers who pay out of pocket and will result in higher insurance premiums for many of those who have drug coverage.
Indeed, the second survey, by Families USA, a patient advocacy group, found that virtually all of the new private drug plans under Medicare raised their prices for frequently used medicines between mid-November 2005, when enrollment began, to mid-April 2006. For 19 of the top 20 drugs prescribed for older Americans, these changes were virtually identical, on average, to changes in the wholesale prices charged by manufacturers.
These price trends ought to put enormous pressure on Medicare drug plans to get the steepest possible discounts and rebates from the manufacturers when negotiating drug prices for the coming year.
The Families USA study found that the Department of Veterans Affairs has negotiated much lower prices than the private drug plans were able to achieve for the top 20 drugs. If the plans can't do better, Congress should allow the Medicare program to negotiate prices directly with the pharmaceutical companies, an approach that was blocked on the theory that competition among private plans would suffice to keep drug prices down.
Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
# posted by Network @ 9:22 PM
