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THURSDAY, Nov. 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Rising drug spending in the United States is being fueled by expensive name-brand prescription medicines, a new study shows.<\/p>\n
“Total prescription drug spending increased 10 percent annually since 2010,” and 82 percent of prescriptions were for cheaper, generic drugs, according to the Blue Cross Blue Shield study, NBC News<\/i> reported. But the study also showed that expensive “branded prescription drugs accounted for only 17 percent of total prescriptions filled, but 79 percent of total prescription drug spending [$79.5 billion].”<\/p>\n
“More expensive branded prescription drug spending is up 4 percent since 2016,” and costs “for single-source drugs with no generic alternatives increased at more than double the rate of average annual drug spending,” according to the study.<\/p>\n
The biggest costs were from three rheumatoid arthritis drugs — Humira, Remicade, and Enbrel — a quick-acting insulin called Novolog, and Neulasta, an immune system-strengthening treatment for cancer patients, NBC News<\/i> reported.<\/p>\n
NBC News<\/i> Article<\/a><\/p>\n