Contrary to repeated assertions by the Bush Administration that the Medicare Part D prescription drug program would bring down pharmaceutical prices, a report released today shows quite the opposite has occurred. According to the report, Part D prices of the most-prescribed drugs for seniors rose steeply last year.
The report, released by the consumer health organization Families USA on the same day the Senate sustained a filibuster on a bill allowing Medicare to bargain for cheaper prices, examined Part D drug plan price changes from April 2006 to April 2007 for the top 15 drugs prescribed to seniors, such as Celebrex, Fosamax, and Lipitor.
According to the report, the median Part D drug price increase was 9.2 percent – almost four times the latest inflation rate (2.4 percent) and almost three times the increase in this year’s cost-of-living adjustment in Social Security (3.3 percent).
Source: Families USA Report
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