Report: Prescription drug spending growth slows

Apr 21 2011

Although the spending still increased, it did so in 2010 at 2.3 percent, a slower rate than in 2009, when the growth rate was 5.1 percent.

The Associated Press: Growth In Prescription Drug Spending Slows
Americans and their insurers spent $307.4 billion on prescription drugs in 2010, up just 2.3 percent from the previous year, according to data released Tuesday by IMS Health Inc. That's a slowdown from a 5.1 percent increase in 2009. Earlier in the decade, annual increases went as high as 13 percent (Johnson, 4/19).

Reuters: U.S. Drug Spending Slows; Hits $307B In 2010: Report
Even with the slowing growth rate, spending on prescription medicines reached $307.4 billion in the world's biggest market, the report issued on Tuesday said. The anemic spending growth compared to a growth rate of 5.1 percent in 2009, which was helped by a lengthy and severe flu season, and was attributed to factors that include greater use of cheaper generic medicines, less spending on new therapies and fewer patients visiting doctors to begin treatments for chronic illnesses (Berkrot, 4/19).