Report Shows Skyrocketing Costs for 20 Brand-Name Drugs for Older Adults

A new report released by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) says the costs for each of the 20 most-prescribed brand-name drugs for older adults have risen dramatically every year for the past five years, reports The Hill . The prices rose by an average of 12 percent every year for five years, nearly 10 times higher than the rate of inflation. A dozen drugs had prices increase by more than half, six had increases of more than 100 percent, and one drug's cost soared 477 percent. The drug's maker, Pfizer, refuted that number, saying its price increased 228 percent. In addition, prescriptions for top brand-name drugs fell by 48 million and revenue rose by $8.5 billion over the last five years. "This report demonstrates that the pricing decisions made by these drug companies are outrageous," McCaskill said. In 2013, the latest year for which data was available, prescription drugs comprised nearly $1 in every $5 that Medicare beneficiaries spent out-of-pocket on healthcare services. Democrats are demanding that Medicare negotiate directly with drugmakers on prices, while Republicans want to introduce more generic drugs to boost competition in the market. McCaskill is one of several bipartisan sponsors of legislation to ban "pharmacy gag clauses" that can hide potential savings on prescriptions from consumers at the pharmacy counter.