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Pharma profits, drug prices both soaring

According to the Government Accountability Office, people are paying almost twice as much for prescription drugs as they did 30 years ago, and retail prescription drug expenses ate up some 12 percent of all U.S. healthcare spending in 2015.

By Marlene Y. Satter | Updated on January 02, 2018
Brand names seem to be at fault for a large part of the problem, with the GAO finding that their use is responsible for much of the increase—which is expected to rise by approximately another 8 percent in 2018. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Not only are people paying way more for drugs these days, pharmaceutical companies are raking it in, with both sales and profit margins reaping the benefits.

Modern Healthcare reports that, according to the Government Accountability Office, people are forking over almost twice as much for prescription drugs as they did 30 years ago. Retail prescription drug expenses ate up some 12 percent of all U.S. healthcare spending in 2015, an increase from the 1990s’ 7 percent.

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