health care

Drug Prices Keep Rising Despite Efforts To Reduce Out-Of-Pocket Costs

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Michael Baudin of Manchester retired eight years ago after a career in auto repair, but now the 76-year-old is back working part time as a driver so he can afford prescription medications. “Every year premiums go up and my co-pay is increasing,” he said. “I take medication for cholesterol, hypertension, heart, prostate and digestion. My wife quit her job due to health issues and her medication is expensive too.”

Baudin says his out-of-pocket cost for a 90-day supply of just one drug, Creon from AbbVie Inc., which he takes for digestion, is $100. The drug does not have a generic equivalent.

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Use Of ADHD Drugs Rose Sharply Among Adults, Especially Women

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) isn’t just for fidgety little boys anymore. The number of young adult women taking medications for ADHD jumped by 85 percent between 2008 and 2012, according to a recent report by St. Louis-based Express Scripts, a pharmaceutical benefits company. While children are still more likely to have ADHD, the rate of diagnosis is climbing faster in adults – up 53 percent in grownups versus 19 percent in kids over those four years. The increase has been driven by rising awareness and recent changes to ADHD’s definition, which allows more adults to meet the diagnosis criteria.