Prescription Drugs: Industry & Pricing
Prescription Drug Industry
Families USA endorses the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (S. 301)
The Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires drug and medical device manufacturers to publicly disclose certain gifts and payments made to physicians. More information about the act and the National Coalition for Appropriate Prescribing is available online at http://www.prescriptionproject.org/sunshine_act.
From Families USA:
Investing in Global Health Research: Tuberculosis explains that TB is not a disease of the past and it continues to devastate countries around the world. Strains of TB have evolved that are resistant to conventional drugs and it is therefore imperative that we develop effective treatments and a new vaccine to eradicate the disease. (February 2007)
Investing in Global Health Research: Government Should Play a Larger Role explains that the private market has failed to provide essential medicines for the developing world and the U.S. government must increase its involvement in the fight against global diseases. (February 2007)
Investing in Global Health Research: HIV/AIDS examines the global crisis of HIV/AIDS and explains that the U.S. can turn the tide against AIDS through leadership and investment in research. (January 2007)
Investing in Global Health Research: Neglected Tropical Diseases discusses tropical diseases that affect 1 billion people worldwide but that are largely overlooked by foreign assistance programs, the pharmaceutical industry, and the rest of the world. (January 2007)
The Choice: Health Care for People or Drug Industry Profits This report examined drug industry profits and spending patterns to determine if Medicaid payments to drug companies could be reduced without harming either Medicaid enrollees' access to medications or the drug companies' ability to conduct necessary research and development. | Key Findings (September 2005)
Statement: Medicaid Commission's Final Recommendations to Congress Side with Drug Industry (August 19, 2005)
Big Pharma Behaving Badly: A Survey of Selected Class Action Lawsuits against Drug Companies, 4th Edition: This survey updates recent and pending class action lawsuits alleging antitrust and consumer fraud violations by pharmaceutical manufacturers. (January 2005)
Sticker Shock: Rising Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors This updated study examines price changes for the top 30 brand-name drugs prescribed for seniors. The survey found that the prices of these drugs have increased by nearly 22 percent over the past three years. (June 2004)
Families USA Submits Written Testimony for the Senate Finance Committee Hearing on International Trade and Pharmaceuticals. The testimony argues that savings from safe prescription drug reimportation, along with other important reforms, can be used to preserve and improve the Medicare and Medicaid programs. (April 27, 2004)
Collusion and Other Anticompetitive Practices: A Survey of Class Action Lawsuits Against Drug Manufacturers
The third edition of this survey updates recent and pending class action lawsuits alleging antitrust and consumer fraud violations by pharmaceutical manufacturers. (January 2004)
Collusion and Other Anticompetitive Practices: A Survey of Class Action Lawsuits Against Drug Manufacturers, Second Edition (January 2003)
Profiting from Pain: Where Prescription Drug Dollars Go (July 17, 2002)
New 2001 Data Show Big Drug Companies Spent Almost Two-and-One-Half Times as Much on Marketing, Advertising, and Administration as They Spent on Research and Development | Report | Charts (July 17, 2002)
Health Action In Depth: Games the Rx Drug Industry Plays is the feature article from the first edition of the Families USA newsletter Health Action. The article examines the tactics prescription drug manufacturers use to squelch competition, including manipulating the patent process to keep generic drugs off the market. (June 2002)
FORUM: Making the Drug Industry Play Fair - Forum held on Capitol Hill, Monday, April 15th to discuss the anti-competitive practices of the drug industry
Response to Drug Companies' New "Together Rx Card" Program (April 10, 2002)
Fortune 500: Drug Industry Most Profitable Again (April 3, 2002)
Drug Industry's Deceptive Lobbying at the State Level (March 22, 2002)
Court Approves Settlement Requiring Mylan Laboratories to Pay Over $100 Million Due to Anti-Competitive Practices (February 5, 2002)
Consumer Groups Criticize NEWSWEEK for Transgressing Ethical bounds by Working with the Pharmaceutical Drug Lobby (October 2, 2002)
Enough to Make You Sick: Prescription Drug Prices for the Elderly For the millions of older Americans who do not have prescription drug coverage, and for millions of others who have very limited coverage, increases in drug prices have a profound impact. As this report demonstrates, these prices are increasing at rates that far exceed inflation. (June 2001)
From the Center for Economic and Policy Research:
The Origins of the Doughnut Hole: Excess Profits on Prescription Drugs describes how the Medicare Part D coverage gap, also known as the “doughnut hole,” increases drug costs for seniors while ensuring profits for the pharmaceutical and private insurance industries. (August 2006)
From Express Scripts:
Geographic Variation Trends in Prescription Use: 2000-2006 provides state-specific information for prescription use for seven major therapy classes: antihyperlipidemics (for high cholesterol), antidiabetics, antihypertensives (for high blood pressure), gastrointestinal (for stomach and intestinal problems), antidepressants, analgesics/anti-inflammatories (painkillers), and estrogen. The study found a dramatic increase in the use of these drugs, especially in Southern states, and the cost to U.S. plan sponsors and their members was more than $12 billion. (January 2008)
From the Government Accountability Office:
Brand-Name Prescription Drug Pricing: Lack of Therapeutically Equivalent Drugs and Limited Competition May Contribute to Extraordinary Price Increases looks at the frequency of drug price increases from 2000-2008, the types of drugs that had price increases, and the factors that may have contributed to these increases. The study found that the number of yearly price increases more than doubled, and most of the increases ranged from 100-499 percent. (December 2009)
Prescription Drugs: FDA Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Has Limitations assesses the trends in spending on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, overall promotion, and research and development. It also analyzes the effect of DTC advertising on drug spending and use. Search for publication number GAO-03-177. (October 2002)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
Prescription Drug Trends Fact Sheet: September 2008 provides information about prescription drug expenditures and coverage, key factors that contribute to rising prescription spending, and efforts to contain certain rising drug costs. Prescription drug spending has become one of the fastest growing components of national health care spending as a result of increased use of prescription drugs, lower rebates from drug manufacturers, and changes in the therapeutic mix of drugs. (September 2008)
From Public Citizen:
The Other Drug War 2003: Drug Companies Deploy an Army of 675 Lobbyists to Protect Profits exposes the drug industry's lobbying barrage on Capitol Hill. The study found that the industry employs 675 Washington lobbyists, 51 percent of whom have revolving-door connections to those in office. The industry also spent a record $91.4 million on lobbying activities in 2002, an 11.6 percent increase from 2001. (June 2003)
From USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health:
The Public on Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceutical Companies survey found that Americans value the health benefits of prescription drugs, but they believe drugs cost too much. The survey also provides information on Americans’ views on and experiences with prescription drugs and the pharmaceutical industry, such as safety issues and government regulation. (March 2008)
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Drug Pricing:
From Families USA:
The Choice: Health Care for People or Drug Industry Profits This report examined drug industry profits and spending patterns to determine if Medicaid payments to drug companies could be reduced without harming either Medicaid enrollees' access to medications or the drug companies' ability to conduct necessary research and development. | Key Findings 36 pp. $15.00 (September 2005)
Statement: Medicaid Commission's Final Recommendations to Congress Side with Drug Industry (August 19, 2005)
Big Pharma Behaving Badly: A Survey of Selected Class Action Lawsuits against Drug Companies, 4th Edition: This survey updates recent and pending class action lawsuits alleging antitrust and consumer fraud violations by pharmaceutical manufacturers. (January 2005)
Sticker Shock: Rising Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors This updated study examines price changes for the top 30 brand-name drugs prescribed for seniors. The survey found that the prices of these drugs have increased by nearly 22 percent over the past three years. (June 2004)
Out of Bounds: Rising Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors (July 2003)
Families USA Testimony on Controlling Drug Pricing before the House of Representatives (June 25, 2003)
Statement: Administration's Generic Drug Rules Provide Weak, Diluted Relief for America's Consumers (October 21, 2002)
Profiting from Pain: Where Prescription Drug Dollars Go (July 17, 2002)
Bitter Pill: The Rising Prices of Prescription Drugs for Older Americans (June 24, 2002)
Popular Prescription Drugs for Seniors Rose Three Times the Rate of Inflation Last Year (June 24, 2002)
Join the Fight for Fair Prescription Drug Prices fairdrugprices.org
Senior And Health Organizations Launch Online Action Center To Give People A Voice In The Fight For Fair Drug Prices (June 12, 2002)
Attorneys General Join Consumers in the Fight for Fair Drug Prices - Statement by Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA (June 4, 2002)
Prescription Drug Costs and Coverage: What Can States Do? An Action Kit for State Advocates (November 2001)
Enough to Make You Sick: Prescription Drug Prices for the Elderly For the millions of older Americans who do not have prescription drug coverage, and for millions of others who have very limited coverage, increases in drug prices have a profound impact. As this report demonstrates, these prices are increasing at rates that far exceed inflation. (June 2001)
From AARP:
FYI: The Cost of Prescription Drugs: Who Needs Help? This issue brief presents data on out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs by poor and low-income beneficiaries, as well as by beneficiaries with modest incomes, such as those with incomes between 175% and 250% of the federal poverty level. It also shows differences in out-of-pocket drug spending between beneficiaries with and without drug coverage. (October 2000)
From the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation:
Department's Response to the President's Request for a Study of Prescription Drug Costs and Trends for Medicare Beneficiaries. This study investigates price differences for the most commonly used drugs for people with and without coverage, drug spending by people of various ages, as a percentage of income and of total health spending, and trends in drug expenditures by people of different ages, as a percentage of income and of total health spending. (April 2000)
From the Center for Studying Health System Change An Update on Americans' Access to Prescription Drugs: According to this new study, more Americans-especially those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and depression-are going without prescription drugs because of cost. The proportion of all American adults reporting problems affording prescription drugs increased between 2001 and 2003, which likely resulted from higher prescribing rates and increased patient cost-sharing. (May 2005) From the Center on an Aging Society:
Prescription Drugs: A Vital Component of Health Care describes the extent to which people with chronic health problems depend on prescription drugs, showing that people who have common chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease have substantial out-of-pocket prescription drug expenses. The report also breaks down prescription drug use according to age group, sex, and race. (September 2002)
From Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports has launched a Web-based project that compares a variety of prescription drugs based on efficacy, price, and safety. The site is designed to help consumers work with their physicians to identify the drugs that are most effective and affordable. Click here for results of the first drug evaluations.
From The Kaiser Family Foundation:
In light of rising drug costs and implementation of the new Medicare drug benefit, Prescription Drug Trends provides updated data on prescription drug expenditures. The fact sheet indicates that the key factors contributing to rising prescription spending are increases in utilization and prices, and changes in the types of drugs used. (June 2006)
The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act Implementation Timeline presents important dates and deadlines for key implementation activities related to the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. (March 2005)
Federal Policies Affecting the Cost and Availability of New Pharmaceuticals examines several ways in which the federal government influences the availability and cost of prescription drugs. These ways include the following: 1) intellectual property protection-the laws and policies that regulate and influence patents and generic competition (include the Hatch-Waxman Act); 2) federal support for drug research and development; 3) federal tax subsidies, primarily various tax credits available to pharmaceutical firms; and 4) reimportation of drugs produced in the U.S. from other countries. (July 2002)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and Tufts-New England Medical Center
Survey Finds Four in 10 Seniors Do Not Take Medications as Prescribed; Poor Experiences with Drugs and Costs Contribute to Non-Adherence: According to this national survey, four in 10 seniors say they have not taken all the drugs their doctors prescribed them in the previous year, either because the costs were too high, because they did not think the drugs were helping them, or because they did not think they needed them. Nationally, slightly more than one in four seniors (27 percent) reported that they did not have any prescription drug coverage at the time of the survey. Full article available with subscription. (April 2005) From The Medicine Program:
The Medicine Program, sponsored by major drug manufacturers, provides free prescription medication to those who qualify. To request a free brochure/application, please call 1-573-778-1118 or write to: The Medicine Program, Dept. B413, P.O. Box 515, Doniphan, MO 63935-0515.
From U.S. PIRG:
While the federal government uses its buying power to negotiate fairer prices for the drugs it purchases for its beneficiaries (such as veterans), the uninsured have no one doing the same on their behalf. Paying the Price: A 19-State Study of the High Cost of Prescription Drugs presents the results of a survey of pharmacies in 18 states and the District of Columbia aimed at determining how much uninsured consumers pay for 10 common prescription drugs; these prices were then compared with those charged to the federal government. Nationally, uninsured consumers pay 72 percent more, on average, for these drugs than the federal government. (July 2003)
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