Government Report Investigates ‘Extraordinary’ Price Hikes
Abstract
Government Report Investigates ‘Extraordinary’ Price HikesJun Yan About half of the large prescription-drug price markups were set by companies that repackage brand-name drugs for hospital and physician use. The rest were instituted by manufacturers. A recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that more than 300 brand-name drugs at least doubled in price from 2000 to 2008 and attributed these “extraordinary” price increases to a lack of alternative medication therapies for many conditions and to limited competition. A majority of the products with a price increase of 100 percent or more at one time fell into three therapeutic classes: central nervous system, anti-infective, and cardiovascular agents. Among the 126 central nervous system drugs cited in the report were approximately 20 medications commonly prescribed for psychiatric illnesses, including Abilify, Adderall, Ambien, Aricept, Effexor, Lamictal, Lunesta, Lyrica, Prozac, Paxil, Risperdal, Seroquel, Topamax, and Zyprexa. Many of these products have generic equivalents. During the nine years, 321 drugs, or a total of 416 products if different dosages or versions were counted separately, experienced an extraordinary price increase, the GAO reported. The number represented 0.5 percent of all brand-name drugs on the market. The magnitude of a price jump was