As Medicare Part D nears, five drug classe dominate spending by the elderly, USA
Cardiovascular drug expenses totaled $15 billion, making them the top-ranked therapeutic drug class in terms of overall spending for Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older in the U.S civilian noninstitutionalized population. The four other most costly drug classes prescribed for elderly Medicare beneficiaries not residing in nursing homes were:
Statins and other cholesterol-reducing drugs
$8.8 billion
Hormones
$7.8 billion
Pain relievers and other central nervous system drugs
$6.8 billion
Drugs for gastrointestinal problems
$5.5 billion
For all age groups, total outpatient prescription drug expenses by the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2003 was
$177.7 billion.
These findings were generated from new data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) -- MEPS HC-077A: 2003 Prescribed Medicines File -- which are available at the following link:
meps.ahrq.gov/Puf/PufDetail.asp?ID=191
MEPS collects information each year from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households about health care use, expenses, access, health status and quality. MEPS is a unique government survey because of the degree of detail in its data, as well as its ability to link data on health services spending and health insurance to demographic, employment, economic, health status, and other characteristics of individuals and families.
http://www.AHRQ.GOV
Ca Medicare Partea D nears, cinci de droguri classe domina de cheltuieli de cãtre persoanele în vârstã, SUA - As Medicare Part D nears, five drug classe dominate spending by the elderly, USA - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate