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Prescription Drugs: Changes in Prices for Selected Drugs

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date Aug. 24, 1992
Report No. HRD-92-128
Subject
Summary:

Soaring prescription drug prices have burdened many Americans, particularly the elderly, who often must pay for these drugs out of pocket because they lack health insurance with drug benefits. Price increases for 29 widely used drugs that GAO reviewed exceeded the inflation rate for the six-year period ended in 1991. Prices for 19 of the drugs, in fact, increased by more than 100 percent--with some surpassing 300 percent. By comparison, the rise in inflation for this same period was about 26 percent. Companies' explanations for the increases were vague and included few details because they consider information on pricing decisions to be confidential and proprietary. Among the factors they cited were increased research and development costs, expansion of manufacturing facilities, increasing product liability lawsuits, an accelerated approval process for generic drugs that shortens the period when companies can recoup their research and development costs, and inflation.

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