The Upward Trek of Brand-Name Prescription Drug Prices
Older Americans who rely upon brand-name prescription drugs to treat common chronic conditions could be paying substantially more for their medications as a result of the pricing strategies employed by brand-name drug companies. AARP has released the Rx Watchdog Report (pdf) that shows prices charged by manufacturers of brand-name drugs continue to increase at double the rate of inflation.AARP believes that the new prescription benefit in Medicare was a good first step to providing full coverage for America’s older people, but a second step needed is to keep down the price of prescription drugs. The AARP Rx Watchdog Report evaluates and reports on the activities of pharmaceutical manufacturers, their pricing policies, quarterly profits and expenditures on activities such as lobbying and advertising. This report also provides information on the new Medicare benefit–what is working well and what is not. Previous issues, dating back to Summer 2004, are available at our website, AARP.org.AARP’s Public Policy Institute studies trends in manufacturer prices on prescription drugs used by older Americans.