Employer Drug Benefit Plans and Spending on Prescription Drugs
Open Access
- 9 October 2002
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Medical Association (AMA) in JAMA
- Vol. 288 (14) , 1733-1739
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.14.1733
Abstract
Spending on outpatient prescription drugs has increased at double-digit rates for the past decade and is now the third largest component of health care expenses behind hospital care and physician services.1 The growth in drug spending can be attributed to many factors, including new drugs with high prices, an aging US population, legislative mandates, and earlier diagnosis.2,3 Although drug spending remains less than 10% of health care expenditures nationally, the share is much higher (commonly 20% to 25%) for working-aged adults with low rates of hospitalizations.4Keywords
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