THE FACTS ABOUT RISING PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

Drug prices in the United States are too high and continue to rise steeply. The unsustainable cost of prescription drugs not only puts pressure on the health care system but increasingly; patients, employers, and providers are paying prices that are too high.

Some facts about the rising cost of prescription drugs

• Today, the expenditure of prescription drugs is 20 times of health care costs

• The cost of prescription drugs is increasing faster than any other part of the health care dollar.

• American spending on prescription drugs increased by 13.1% in the year 2014—the largest annual increase since 2003. The spending rose to another 12.2 percent in the year 2015.

• Specialty drug (drugs that require special handling, administration, or monitoring) pricing alone is far beating the Consumer Price Index. Moreover, specialty drugs are expected to increase to 44% of overall drug spending by the year 2017.

• Spending on 10 breakthrough drugs alone will cost just three government programs nearly $50 billion over a decade.

• According to a recent AARP report, the annual retail cost of widely-used specialty prescription drug therapies in 2013 was around $53,384 annually. This is more than an average of the US household income ($52,250) for the same time period.

• Spending on specialty medicines increased by $54 billion over the last five years, accounting for73%of all medicine spending growth.

• Prices are rising on some common drugs, too. Four of the top 10 prescription drugs in the US have increased in price by more than 100 percent since 2011.

How can you afford prescription drugs?

If you want to buy prescription drugs without burning a hole in your pocket, download free prescription discount cards. These prescription cards will help you to save up to 75-80% of your money on prescription drugs. The cards are acceptable at the majority of the pharmacies of the US.