Rx demand "driving US health plan cost rises"

Fast-rising prescription drugs costs within US managed-care health plansare being driven largely by enrollee demand, particularly for new drugs, says a report in the July issue of the American Journal of Managed Care.

The study, by University of Michigan researchers, says health maintenance organizations' prescription costs grew 34.8% over two years, while those of preferred provider organizations rose 30.7%. Traditional fee-for-service plans' prescription costs increased 17.3%, again almost entirely due to prescriptions written for new drugs, rather than price rises for existing drugs, it says.

An accompanying editorial, by Bernard Bloom of the University of Pennsylvania, says the study shows that recent rises in drug spending are due "overwhelmingly" to expansion in volume and the changing mix of prescriptions written and filled. "Price increases accounted for minor effects," Dr Bloom adds.