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Medication prices skyrocket for senior citizens

Monday, April 02, 2007 by: David Gutierrez | Key concepts: medication, inflation and drug prices

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Almost 200 of the brand-name prescription drugs most commonly used by seniors rose in price at nearly twice the rate of inflation last year, according to a report by the seniors' lobby group AARP (formerly known as the American Association Of Retired Persons).

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What you need to know - Conventional View

• According to the report, the prices of nearly 200 popular drugs rose by 6.2 percent in 2006. The nationwide general inflation rate was 3.2 percent.

• The drugs with the greatest price increase were the insomnia drug Ambien (at 29.7 percent) and the asthma/lung medications Combivent and Atrovent (18.3 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively).

• In contrast, the prices of 75 popular generic drugs for seniors fell by 2.0 percent in 2006.

• AARP is using the report as part of its effort to convince the federal government to grant Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Medicare is the publicly funded federal health insurance program for seniors and the disabled.

• Nationwide, spending on prescription drugs rose 5.8 percent in 2005. U.S. drug prices are among the highest in the world; most other nations have laws regulating drug prices.

• Quote: "We need to send a loud and clear message to the pharmaceutical industry that Americans cannot afford to continue to pay the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world." - David Sloane, Senior Managing Director, Government Relations & Advocacy

What you need to know - Alternative View

Statements and opinions by Mike Adams, author of Natural Health Solutions and the Conspiracy to Keep You From Knowing About Them

• Drug companies are determined to extract the maximum profits possible from senior citizens, using profiteering pricing, fraudulent advertising and a near-monopoly over modern medicine.

Bottom line

• The prices of almost 200 popular, brand-name drugs for seniors rose at nearly twice the rate of inflation in 2006.

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