The Household Component of the 2005/2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey found that while total Medicare outpatient drug spending increased, total prescription drug expenditures had no significant increase.
In addition, Medicare was the only source with an increased proportion (6.7 percent to 45.3 percent), when comparing the sources of payment distributions for outpatient prescribed drug expenditures. The proportion decreased for Medicaid (15.5 percent to 0.9 percent), out of pocket (43.3 percent to 31.3 percent) and other (9.3 percent to 6.0 percent), according to the release.
The average Medicare patient $1,004 annually for outpatient prescription drugs in 2006, which was more than seven times the amount they paid in 2005 ($138).
Read the AHRQ release on the increase in Medicare Part D outpatient drug spending (pdf).
