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Medicare | Prices for 10 Top Brand-Name Drugs Under Private ...

Prices under Medicare prescription drug plans for 10 of the most prescribed brand-name medications have increased 6.8% since December 2006, while wholesale prices for the same drugs have increased 3%, according to a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee report, the Washington Post reports. Previously, Medicare actuaries had projected that drug prices would increase by 7% over the entire year.

According to the report, insurance companies that offer Medicare drug plans likely will negotiate rebates from pharmaceutical companies that amount to 4.6% of total drug costs this year, compared with 5.2% last year. Medicare actuaries previously had estimated insurers in 2007 would obtain rebates of 6%. According to the Post, a reduction in discounts from 6% to 4.6% over 10 years would result in about $17 billion in unanticipated prescription drugs costs for beneficiaries and taxpayers, with all of the additional money going to drug companies.