2013 data from the International Federation of Health Plans
Major drug companies took hefty price increases in the U.S., in some cases more than doubling listed charges, for widely used medications over the past five years, a Reuters analysis of proprietary data found.
Prices for four of the nation’s top 10 drugs increased more than 100 percent since 2011, Reuters found. Six others went up more than 50 percent. Together, the price increases on drugs for arthritis, high cholesterol, asthma and other common problems added billions in costs for consumers, employers and government health programs.
Extraordinary price hikes by two small companies, Turing Pharmaceuticals and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.TO), drew new attention to drug costs. Turing expected to book $200 million by raising the price of Daraprim, an antiparasitic used for a rare infection, by 5,000 percent, according to company documents released by Congressional investigators.
Routine price increases by bigger players may draw less attention, but they add up. Sales for the top 10 drugs went up 44 percent […]
It is not any wonder at all that people where I live in the US go across the border to Mexico to get their medications. They also get dental and cosmetic surgery there as well. More jobs and revenue for other countries this way with border town states.
Celebrex is a cox 2 inhibitor- same as Vioxx that killed so many people.
Hey Lori, you’re lucky: I just had to pull two of my own teeth that were bothering me for years with a pair of special pliers, being careful to use alcohol to clean the tool and washing my mouth with salt water for a week to make sure infection didn’t set in because local dentists are so expensive here. I had gone to one of those cheap Aspen Dental dentists for my last extraction and their barbaric methods resulted in a dislocation of my tempero-mandibular joint. My wife’s digoxin medication which cost $17 co-pay last year, is not even covered at all this year, by the same insurance company and she had to pay the full price of over $120 for an older medication which should cost very little because the patent expired a long time ago and it is easy to make. We need a new Congress; there’s no doubt about that.