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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Cardiovascular Drugs Top U.S. Drug Spending; Senior
Citizens Buy over Half
Second for seniors - cholesterol-lowering drugs,
for all adults - hormones
Feb. 12, 2007 - In 2004, American adults spent $32
billion on cardiovascular drugs and more than half of that spending ($17
billion) was by senior citizens on Medicare. These drugs were at the top
of the five costliest classes of drugs prescribed by doctors for people
age 18 and over, according to the latest News and Numbers from the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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Health & Medicine |
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The five costliest classes of drugs combined
accounted for two thirds $119 billion of the $181 billion total
expenditures spent on outpatient prescription medications by adults in
the United States in 2004.
● Hormones were the second-costliest drug class
($25 billion), followed by central nervous system drugs ($24 billion),
which can be used to treat pain and control seizures;
cholesterol-lowering medications ($22 billion); and antidepressants and
other psychotherapeutic drugs ($18 billion).
● Among adults who had a prescription drug
purchase in 2004, the highest percentage purchased at least one central
nervous system drug (44 percent), followed by cardiovascular medications
(38 percent), hormones (37 percent), anti-cholesterol drugs (22
percent), and antidepressants (20 percent).
For senior citizens (age 65 and older) in 2004,
AHRQ found:
● The top five classes were cardiovascular drugs
($17 billion), cholesterol-lowering drugs ($10 billion), hormones ($8
billion), central nervous system drugs ($7 billion), and
gastrointestinal drugs ($6 billion). Spending totaled nearly $48
billion.
 ● Expenditures for these drugs accounted for
roughly three-quarters of the $65 billion spent on all prescription
drugs for Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older in 2004.
AHRQ, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, works to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and
effectiveness of health care in the United States. The data in this AHRQ
News and Numbers comes from the Agencys Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey, a highly detailed source of information on the health services
that Americans use, how frequently they use them, the cost of these
services, and how they are paid.
For more information on this AHRQ News and Numbers
see The Top Five Therapeutic Classes of Outpatient Prescription Drugs
Ranked by Total Expense for Adults in the U.S. Civilian
Noninstitutionalized Population, 2004, MEPS Statistical Brief #154; and
The Top Five Therapeutic Classes of Outpatient Drugs Ranked by Total
Expense for the Medicare Population Age 65 and Older in the U.S.
Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2004, MEPS Statistical Brief #
153.
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