Spending on prescription drugs in the United States increased by 2.9% in 2011 to $263 billion, compared with an increase of just 0.4% the year before, when the total reached $255.7 billion. These are the most recent data released by the US government through the Office of the Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, published in 'Health Affairs'.
The growth was driven primarily by price increases for brand-name and specialty drugs during 2011. Total health care spending in the United States grew by 3.9% to $2.7 trillion in 2011, marking relatively slow growth for the third consecutive year.
The increase in health expenditure also accounts for that of GDP in 2010 and 2011. The percentage of GDP reserved for health remained stable from 2009 to 2011, at 17.9%. However, public health expenditure increased from 3.7% to 4.1% in 2011.
In addition, spending on Medicare, private health insurance, and out-of-pocket costs increased faster in 2011 than in 2010. Overall, the impact of Obama's Affordable Care Act provisions on overall growth in health care spending in 2010 and 2011 was minimal.
Barbara Di Chiara – 17 January 2013 – PharmaKronos
Editor's note: In 2011, pharmaceutical production in value in Italy amounted to 25.2 billion euros, equal to 1.1% of GDP, while total public health expenditure is 7.1% of GDP while total public expenditure is 45.6% of GDP [source AIFA, ISTAT]
