Data from the Agency for Healthcare...

Data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Medical Expenditure Panel take a view of show that expenses for outpatient prescribed medications increased from $723 billion in 1997 to $103 billion in 2000 proceeds from the survey include the following: outpatient prescription medications accounted for a greater proportion of total medical costs increasing from approximately 13 percent of total costs in 1997 to more than 16 percent in 2000; the average out-of-pocket expenditures for people at least 65 years of age were more than three times higher than for the community under 65 years of age each year from 1997 to 2000; the average number of prescriptions for individuals at least 65 years of age was more than twice the average number of prescriptions for characters under 65 years of age in each year from 1997 to 2000; and between 1997 and 2000 the average charge for people at least 65 years of age with any prescription medication charge increased by 35 percent, from $819 to $1102 The scrutinize "Statistical Brief 21: Trends in Outpatient Prescription unsalable article Utilization and Expenditures: 1997-2000," is available forward the AHRQ's Web site at wwwmep ahrq.gov/papers/st21/stat21.htm.

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