AARP: Specialty medicines out of reach for average American family

WASHINGTON - Retail prices for over 100 widely used specialty prescription drugs surged skyward by nearly 11% in 2013, according to a new AARP Public Policy Institute report issued Friday. The average annual cost of a specialty medication used on a chronic basis exceeded $53,000 in 2013. 

 

"Specialty drugs are among the most expensive on the market, and are expected to be the fastest growing group of drugs over the next decade," said Debra Whitman, AARP's chief public policy officer. "These exorbitant prices and price increases can be financially disastrous, especially for people on fixed incomes. Americans cannot continue to absorb the astronomical costs associated with these products indefinitely."

 

The average cost of specialty medicines was greater than the median U.S. household income of $52,250, more than twice the median income of $23,500 for people on Medicare, and almost three-and-a-half times higher than the average Social Security retirement benefit of $15,526 over the same time period, the report noted. And the average annual price increase was more than 7 times higher than inflation: 10.6% vs. 1.5%

 

The AARP PPI report also found that specialty drug prices are considerably higher than other drug prices. In 2013, the average annual cost for specialty prescription drugs was 18 times higher than the cost of brand name prescription drugs and 189 times higher than the cost of generic prescription drugs.

 

The new report, the third in a series of reports on prescription drug prices, examined the retail prices of 115 specialty prescription drugs most widely used by older Americans. The analysis included 47 different drug manufacturers and covered 30 different therapeutic categories. The vast majority (85%) of the 115 specialty drugs studied are used to treat chronic health conditions.

 

"We know that nearly two-thirds of older Americans use three or more prescription drugs on a regular basis," said Leigh Purvis, PPI director of health services research and co-author of the new report. "The average price of just one specialty drug now outstrips what many families earn in a year. These high drug prices can make it extremely difficult for patients to afford the treatment they need to stay healthy." 

 

According to the AARP PPI report, policy makers interested in reducing the impact of high drug prices should focus on solutions that balance the need for pharmaceutical innovation with the need for improved health and the financial security of consumers and taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare and Medicaid.