American spending on retail prescription drugs hit $425 billion, according to a report by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. That, and year-over-year growth of around 12 percent is likely to capture headlines. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find that rebates and other discounts that pharmaceutical companies offer insurers slashed that spending to $310 billion. For patent-protected-drugs this is especially important – these price concessions cut price growth by between 77 and 81 percent. That’s great news for the health care system and for insurers – but unfortunately, the neediest patients with the highest costs don’t benefit much from these concessions. That’s due for a change.
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