According to a congressional report, drug makers have hiked the prices of 20 of the most commonly prescribed brand-name drugs for senior citizens at nearly 10 times the annual rate of inflation every year since 2013, CNN reports.
Here's what you should know.
1. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., released the report as part of her investigation into drug prices. She said to CNN, "Can you imagine if you went to an auto dealership and last year's exact model was being sold at a 20 percent markup, and then you went back the next year and it had happened again? That's exactly what's happening in the prescription drug industry, where the cost of identical drugs skyrockets year after year."
2. The report examined costs of the most prescribed drugs under the Medicare Part D program from 2012 to 2017.
3. The cost of chest pain drug Nitrostat increased 477 percent, the most of the 20 drugs studied.
4. Shingles drug Zostavax had the lowest percent cost increase, at 31 percent over five years.
5. Sales from the top 20 most commonly prescribed drugs increased a combined $8.5 billion over the five-year study period.
6. Pharmaceutical lobbying group The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America labeled the report as misleading. Spokeswoman Juliet Johnson said, "Negotiated rebates can reduce list prices by as much as 30 to 70 percent for medicines used to treat diabetes, high cholesterol, and chronic respiratory illnesses. Notably, half of the 20 brand medicines in this report are used to treat these chronic conditions."
7. Medicare is not allowed to directly negotiate drug prices, but President Donald Trump could be open to breaking rank and passing legislation to lower drug costs.