Still, while President Trump and members of Congress from both parties regard lowering drug prices as a political cause, total expenditures on prescription drugs rose 2.5 percent last year, to $335 billion. ADThe slowing of drug price increases “means buyers are being smarter and more sensitive” looking for generic alternatives and other ways to avoid high-priced medicines, said Dan Mendelson, founder of Avalere Health, a D.C.-based consulting firm. The health expenditures study shows a continuing contraction of health coverage, with about 1 million more people uninsured in 2018, about the same increase as the previous year. ADThe cost per person for private health insurance rose last year by an average of 6.7 percent, the most rapid increase since 2004. ADThe drop in retail drug prices was the first since 1973, federal officials said.

Source: Washington Post December 05, 2019 21:03 UTC