Wholesale Prescription Drug Prices Soar

[jeffrey]

The wholesale prices for well known brand-name prescription drugs soared an average 7.1% in 2004 compared to a 0.5% average increase for popular generic brand prescription drugs according to a new study commissioned by AARP. The brand-name prescription drugs price increase was more than twice the general inflation rat and was the largest increase in the last 5 years that AARP has commissioned the study.

While the report studied the wholesale and not retail prices of prescription drugs, the findings point to higher prices for consumers. According to the authors of the study, these increases are routinely passed on to consumers in retail prices.




The study looked at 195 brand-name prescription drugs widely used by people 50 and older and what manufacturers charged for them. It was conducted by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the PRIME Institute, an independent research organization at the University of Minnesota's College of Pharmacy.

With a general inflation rate of 2.7% (Consumer Price Index) the wholesale prices of the brand-name prescription drugs rose 2.5 times inflation. When 153 brand-name prescription drugs that have been included in all the reports since 1999 were studied, they rose 35.1% compared to an inflation rate of 13.5% during the same period.

[csonneman]

Check with your employer about a program called Medical Flex Benefits. It is a program where you can set aside pretax dollars to pay for medical services including perscriptions. It gains me about $25 per check. They take out the $100 I want them to and then there is less money to tax so I actually only have a check that is $75 less that it was before I started the program.

Also you do not have to budget for your perscriptions because they are coming from a different fund even if you have to pay up front and get reimbursed.

If you have any other questions about it talk to your employer and see if they have the program or would look into getting it. Great way to save money.

You can even use the money on most over the counter medicine.