Soaring Prescription Drug Prices Show No Sign Of Stopping

Prescription drug prices are continuously going up.

FOX’s Alex Hein reports:

This is, Housecall for Health.

Soaring drug prices made headlines in 2015, whether it was new treatment for Hepatitis C that costs up to $100,000, or by enormous increases exemplified by Turing Pharmaceuticals, which raised the price of the a drug by more than 55x overnight.

This trend shows no signs of stopping in 2016.

According to the CDC, because of the increases, more patients ask for cheaper alternatives or seek unproven alternative remedies. More alarmingly, about 8% stop taking their drugs as prescribed, lowering their dosage without consulting their doctor.

But when people who need medications don’t take them, they tend to get sicker, need more health services, and face higher medical costs as a result. Consumers and politicians have responded to the rising drug costs with outrage.

With interest groups including insurance companies, drug makers and patients all ready to defend their positions, a solution won’t be as simple as cutting prices.

For more on this story, check foxnewshealth.com.

Housecall for Health, I’m Alex Hein, FOX News.