Retail prices for brand name prescription drugs, which are widely used by older Americans, rose an average of 15.5 percent in 2015, according to a new AARP Public Policy Institute report. That's almost 130 times faster than the 0.1 percent general inflation rate.
In fact, the average annual cost for one brand name drug used on a chronic basis now exceeds $5,800.
For the average older American taking 4.5 prescription drugs per month, this translates into an average annual cost of $26,000, which exceeds the median income of $24,150 for Medicare beneficiaries.
The 15.5 percent average price hike was more than two-and-a-half times higher than the 5.9 percent increase observed in 2006. Most brands followed the trend: Retail prices increased for 97 percent of the 268 brand name prescription drugs the study examined. Seven of those drugs had average annual retail price increases of over 50 percent.
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Five of the six drugs with the highest cumulative price increases over the study period were marketed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The retail price of Valeant's anti-anxiety drug, Ativan, increased by 2,873 percent between 2006 and 2015.
The price increases have been steady despite increasing consternation on the part of lawmakers and the public. Their ire was raised earlier this year by Mylan, which in 2007 acquired the EpiPen, a device containing epinephrine and is used as an emergency treatment to combat severe allergic reactions. The Epipen cost $94 in 2007, but cost $609 for a two-pack as recently as this spring.
Leigh Purvis, director of health services research at the AARP Public Policy Institute, and co-author of the report, said in a statement that even if patients are fortunate enough to have good health coverage, "high prescription drug costs translate into higher out-of-pocket costs -- especially for those who pay a percentage of drug costs rather than a fixed copayment -- as well as higher premiums, deductibles, and other forms of cost-sharing."
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