The article Americans’ Rx Drug Spending Tops $300 Billion explains the 8.5% increase in prescription drug spending by US consumers from 2014 to 2015. The growth in spending on specialty drugs is one of the culprits, especially in drugs treating hepatitis, cancer, and other autoimmune diseases. The growth in this sector is only expected to increase by 4-7% each year through the year 2020.
Ironically, the act of distributing more coupons to consumers to reduce patients’ out of pocket costs has been a reason for a net price increase of prescription drugs. Similarly, more generic drug choices for consumers goes hand in hand with increased competition for generic and branded drugs, creating a rise in net price for branded drugs to $4 more per prescription than the previous year. Generic drug pricing however, has remained unchanged.
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Americans’ Rx Drug Spending Tops $300 Billion
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