Containing Drug Costs – A Prescription for Purchasers – January 2002

If you purchase health insurance for your company or organization, you are acutely aware that U.S. drug prices are rising more than three times as fast as the Consumer Price Index, and utilization is increasing too. The Kaiser Foundation offers the following evidence: Prescription drug price increases averaged 10.5% per year from 1998-2000, while the annual CPI increased 2.8%; in 2000, the drug hike was estimated to be 17%.