The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that retail drug spending accounted for about 12% of total personal healthcare service spending in the United States in 2015, up from about 7% through the 1990s.
The amount consumers spend on prescription drugs has nearly doubled since the 1990s, and much of the increase is due to the price of expensive brand-name drugs. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that retail drug spending accounted for about 12% of total personal healthcare service spending in the United States in 2015, up from about 7% through the 1990s. The GAO report, “Drug Industry: Profits, Research and Development Spending, and Merger and Acquisition Deals,” was written at the request of Representative Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, and Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and examines how trends in the pharmaceutical industry play a role in drug prices.
Market pressures, such as rising research and development (R&D) costs, fewer drugs in development, and competition from generics have driven structural changes in the industry that have affected drug prices, the GAO report shows the following:
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