Big Dollars, Little Sense: Rising Medicare Prescription Drug Prices


 

Publication Date: June 2006

Publisher: Families USA

Author(s): Dee Mahan

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

The report asks two key questions: 1) What has happened to Part D prices for the most frequently prescribed drugs from November 2005 to April 2006?; and 2) How do Part D drug prices now compare to the prices secured by the VA? The answers are both clear and disappointing: 1) Virtually all of the Part D plans raised their prices for the majority of the top 20 drugs in this study. 2) For all of the top 20 drugs prescribed to seniors, VA prices in April were lower than the lowest prices charged by Part D plans.