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Washington, D.C. - The 50 most heavily prescribed drugs for seniors rose in price, on average, at more than twice the rate of inflation, according to a new report issued by the consumer health organization Families USA. The report examined drug price increases through January of this year.

According to the report, over one-third (18 out of 50) of the most-prescribed drugs for seniors rose in price at least three times the rate of inflation from January 2000 to January 2001. The drugs that rose the fastest were: Synthroid (a synthetic thyroid agent), which rose 8.5 times inflation; Alphagan (used to treat glaucoma), which rose 8.4 times inflation; Glucophage (used to treat diabetes), which rose 5.8 times inflation; Premarin (an estrogen replacement), which rose 4.8 times inflation; and Demadex (a diuretic), which rose 4.6 times inflation. [See attached chart.]

"Older Americans live on fixed incomes, like Social Security and pensions, and yet the prices of their prescriptions are skyrocketing at multiples of inflation," said Families USA executive director Ron Pollack. "These price increases cannot be justified and are making prescription medicines unaffordable for too many seniors."

These price increases are part of a similar pattern that has occurred over numerous years, according to the Families USA report. Among the top-50 drugs prescribed for seniors, 36 were on the market for the past five years. Among those 36 drugs: 31 rose faster than the rate of inflation over the five-year period; nearly two-thirds (23 out of 36) rose 1.5 or more times the rate of inflation; and over one-quarter (10 out of 36) rose three or more times the rate of inflation.

During the period from January 1996 through January 2001, 27 of the 36 top-selling drugs on the market rose in price at least five times, or at least once per year. During those years, Premarin, Claritin (an antihistamine), and Synthroid rose in price nine times, and Demadex and K-Dur (a potassium replacement) rose eight times.

"There simply is no justification for these frequent and fast-rising price increases over time," said Pollack. "The drug industry likes to claim that high prices are needed to pay for research and development, but these price increases have much more to do with corporate profits than the research costs for these drugs that occurred many years ago."

The Families USA report shows that the highest-cost drugs are also among the most commonly prescribed drugs for seniors. Among the top-50 drugs as of January 2001, the six most expensive ones (Celebrex, Zocor, Prilosec, Prevacid, Plavix, and Lipitor) account for nearly 20 percent of all prescriptions on the top-50 list. Some of those drugs are among the most heavily advertised by pharmaceutical companies.

The report documents that generic drugs are not only cheaper, but they are generally rising in price at much slower rates than brand-name drugs. Among the 10 generic drugs on the top-50 list, seven did not increase in price at all in the January 2000 to January 2001 period.

The Families USA report was issued as the new Senate leadership made prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries a legislative priority. The report may give greater impetus to those legislative efforts.

"Seniors can't afford to wait any longer for a prescription drug benefit in Medicare," Pollack said. "Congress must act this year to provide relief to the millions of older Americans struggling with high prescription drug costs."

The PRIME Institute at the University of Minnesota developed the data for the Families USA report. References to inflation in the report are based on the Consumer Price Index less the costs of energy. CPI less energy provides a stable illustration of general inflation, thereby avoiding volatile up and down variations due to fluctuating energy costs.

Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is non-profit and non-partisan and advocates for high-quality affordable health care for all Americans.

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