Expensive New Meds, Price Hikes On Old Ones Contribute To Steep Drug Spending Spike
Total spending in 2015 rose to nearly $425 billion, according to the report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. It estimates that after rebates and other price breaks, manufacturers received $309.5 billion for U.S. prescription drugs last year, up 8.5 percent from 2014.
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Drug Spending Climbs
Total spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. rose 12.2% to nearly $425 billion in 2015, continuing a steep climb fueled by the introduction in recent years of expensive new drugs for cancer and infections, as well as price hikes for older drugs, according to a new report. The spending growth rate decelerated from the 14.2% rise in 2014, partly because of patent expirations for certain drugs, but the growth was still well above the average for the past decade, according to a research arm of IMS Health that produces the annual report on spending. The figures are based on pharmaceutical list prices. ... IMS estimated that after rebates and other price breaks, manufacturers received $309.5 billion for U.S. prescription drugs last year, up 8.5% from 2014. (Loftus, 4/14)
In other national health news —
The Washington Post:
People May Be Warming Up To Health Reform — But Not To ‘Obamacare’
A new study finds that although the public remains stubbornly split on the Affordable Care Act, a slight shift may be occurring beneath the surface — with a growing minority of people coming around to the opinion that the law is having a real impact on access to health care. To be clear, the analysis is based on two-year-old data, and it shows more people are opposed to the law (45.6 percent) than in favor of it (36.2 percent). It also shows that most Americans — albeit a shrinking majority — still think the law has had "no/little impact" on any of the following: increased access to health care, insurance coverage for young adults, assistance for drugs to seniors or insurance subsidies. (Johnson, 4/13)
The Associated Press:
EPA: No Changes To Federal Lead Water Rule Until Next Year
The Environmental Protection Agency’s top water regulator said Wednesday that officials are working urgently to strengthen a federal rule limiting lead and copper in drinking water — a key focus in the ongoing lead-contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan. But Joel Beauvais, acting chief of the EPA’s water office, said proposed changes will not be released until next year, with a final rule expected months after that. (Daly, 4/13)