Drug Price Hikes Hit Disadvantaged

Drug companies are hitting the elderly, uninsured and others least able to pay with price increases nearly twice the rate of inflation, according to figures released Thursday.

Wholesale prices of the top 500 prescriptions sold in drugstores rose 4.1% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, said the National Assn. of Chain Drug Stores and the Prime Institute, a research group at the University of Minnesota. The consumer price index rose just 2.5% during the period, the groups said.

However, the only patients who pay drugstore prices are those who aren’t members of health maintenance organizations or other insurance plans. Those buyers represent about 45% of the public, including people over 65--whose Medicare benefits don’t include drugs.

Health maintenance organizations and prepaid drug insurance programs pay far less because they negotiate discounts directly with drug makers. Their members often pay only $5 or so per prescription.

Drug industry spokesmen questioned the accuracy of the association’s survey and said their price increases are necessary to fund research into new drugs.

However, the study supports anecdotal reports of price increases earlier this year from drug industry securities analysts and an independent research corporation, Medispan Inc.

The situation suggests the emergence of a two-tiered pricing structure in the prescription drug industry.