RedwoodAge.com

While overall cost inflation has been minimal during since the recession began in 2007, prices for the most widely used brand name drugs soared 8.3 percent, according to a new survey.

Retail drug prices nearly matched the 9.3 percent rise in manufacturers prices in 2009, according to AARP, which looked at the pricing of 217 drugs in its study. Of those, all but six had retail price hikes that exceeded inflation.

The prostate drug Flomax had the biggest increase among the 25 top-selling medications, with its price soaring 24.8 percent last year. As with many of the drugs, Flomax is used mostly by older Americans who may be retired on fixed incomes or living on benefits made available through Social Security and Medicare.

A full list of the drugs in the survey is available online.

“For the first time, we know that brand name drug retail prices are growing just as quickly as manufacturer prices,” said AARP Executive Vice President John Rother.  “These are increases that hit the wallets of every American, whether through their own health care bills or the costs of programs like Medicare and Medicaid.”

To be sure, many Americans have switched to generic versions of commonly available medicines. Still, big pharmaceutical companies continue to advertise brand-name versions, often with suggesting they offer advantages. And many of the top-selling drugs aren't yet available in generic versions.

Price Controls
The survey prompted AARP, the largest political lobby for older Americans, to call for price controls on drugs.

Rother said "unless something is done to bring down their skyrocketing price increases, life-saving medicines will be out of reach for too many.  The health care law made some progress by closing the Medicare doughnut hole, but Congress and the industry must bring more competition and transparency to the marketplace.”

According to AARP, its past survey had been criticized by the drug industry because they failed to reflect discounts and rebates offered by the drug makers. This study showed those discounts made little difference in the prices paid by consumers.

Products from two drug makers - Boehringer Ingelheim and BTA Pharmaceuticals - had average increases of over 15 percent.  Drugs from Merck, Allergan and Alcon had average increases of less than 5 percent, according to the study.

Health care reforms approved by Congress will start closing the gap in Medicare drug coverage next year, giving people $250 to help pay for drug costs.

AARP also called on Congress to allow the importation of prescription drugs and to bring generic versions of biologic drugs to the market faster. It also wants Congress to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers.