Drug spending raises US health care tab
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Seniors and the disabled flocked to the pharmacy counter in 2006 with their new Medicare drug cards, fueling a 6.7 percent increase in health spending, the federal government reported Monday.
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Rising cost projections for the new  Medicare drug benefit alarmed U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday and  set off renewed calls to restrain spiraling drug prices and  allow pharmaceutical imports from Canada.
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THURSDAY, Nov. 1 (HealthDay News) -- In 2006, introduction of the U.S. Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit increased the number of seniors' prescriptions by 158 million, at a cost of $32 billion to Medicare, a new study concludes.
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More than a quarter of growth in health care spending over the past 15 years is due to obesity, and experts say prevention is key to control soaring costs.
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Hospital and doctor visits in the United States have surged by 20 percent in the past five years and the most commonly prescribed medications are antidepressants, according to statistics published on Friday.
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Rising cost projections for the new Medicare drug benefit alarmed U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday and set off renewed calls to restrain spiraling drug prices and allow pharmaceutical imports from Canada.
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President BushÂs budget would more than double the co-payment charged to many veterans for prescription drugs.
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Every year, without fail, spending for services covered by private health insurance increases. Sometimes health care spending grows slowly, as it did in the mid-1990s during the managed-care boom.
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Lobbying and other political spending by the pharmaceutical industry includes:
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The cost of providing health care to employees has risen 11.2 percent this year, according to an authoritative national survey reported Thursday.
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A majority of consumers said the biggest change in their health insurance last year was higher copayments for prescription drugs, according to survey results released yesterday.
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Efforts to allow Americans access to cheaper prescription drugs from abroad should blossom once Democrats assume control in Congress, but it won't be a top priority, lawmakers and health care experts said.
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The dramatic increase in health-care spending in the United States since 1960 is a major reason that Americans are living longer, making the world's most expensive health-care system a good value despite its high costs, according to an academic study being released today.
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Annual growth in U.S. health-care spending increased slightly in 2006 and continued to outpace inflation and the nation's overall economic growth, government researchers said in a report released on Tuesday.
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The pharma raises cash ahead of an FDA hearing.
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The quality of health care in the United States is steadily improving, with more patients getting recommended treatments, but there are a few notable gaps -- and costs are skyrocketing, according to a report released on Tuesday.
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US taxpayers are overpaying for medicines for poor Medicaid patients and the system is ripe for an overhaul next year, lawmakers in both parties said on Tuesday.