NurseWeek

Rising drug costs for the elderly

By Mary Elizabeth Hopkins
August 6, 2000


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Washington. As the 36 million elderly Americans on Medicare – which doesn’t pay for prescriptions – receive more prescriptions per person, they face much higher bills for pharmaceuticals.

A study by Families USA indicates that the average senior citizen will spend an estimated $1,200 per month on prescriptions this year. By 2010, the figure could reach $2,800 per person, said Amanda McCloskey, director of Health Policy at Families USA.

"The average number of prescriptions per elderly person grew from 19.6 in 1992 to 28.5 in 2000, an increase of 45 percent. By 2010, the average number is projected to grow to 38.5, an increase of 35 percent per senior since 2000," the report said.

In 1999, seniors’ prescription drug expenditures rose 18.8 percent, a study by IMS Health reported. Of this, only 4.2 percent resulted from price increases for the drugs, while 14.6 percent resulted from increased use of prescriptions, said Meredith Art, spokeswoman for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Different factions disagree on solutions, but they agree that a lack of Medicare prescription coverage remains a problem for those 65 and older, McCloskey and Art said.

The House recently voted on the Republican proposal for Medicare coverage, but it’s unclear whether the Democratic proposal will reach the floor, McCloskey said.

PhRMA contends that government price controls could hamper innovation, Art said, while subsidization by private sector insurance companies – the solution put forth by Republicans – would better handle prescription costs for seniors.