Brand-Name Drug Prices Outpacing Generics
27 September 2005
A new federal report has found that
brand-name drug prices have increased three times as
fast as generic-drug prices over the past four years,
and healthcare-reform advocates said this information
could be used to encourage legislators to insert a pro-generics
provision into the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit
currently set to begin next January.
The report, from the Government Accountability Office
(GAO), found the average price for a 30-day supply of
96 drugs frequently used by Medicare and non-Medicare
enrollees increased 24.5 percent from January 2000 to
December 2004.
Of the 96 drugs, 20 accounted for nearly two-thirds
of the increase, and the price increases for 75 prescription
drugs frequently used by Medicare beneficiaries closely
resembled the increases for 76 drugs needed by non-Medicare
consumers.
Pfizer's Lipitor 10 milligram size and Celebrex topped
the list of drug price increases, while only one generic
-- hydrocodone/acetaminophen -- made the top 20, and
more than 50 frequently used brand-name drugs cost three
times more than their generic counterparts.
Other drugs with significant price increases included
Bristol-Myers Squibb's Plavix; TAP Pharmaceutical's
Prevacid; Pfizer's Lipitor 20 mg; Sanofi-Aventis's Ambien,
and Merck's Zocor used to treat men's and women's
health.
The report surveyed both the usual and customary prices
covered by prescription-drug insurance and the prices
individuals without insurance would pay at retail pharmacies.
GAO researchers also used two state pharmacy-assistance
programs used by Medicare and non-Medicare enrollees,
average prices paid to manufacturers by wholesalers
and the average suggested sticker prices that wholesalers
charge pharmacies.
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