Study: Brand-Name Drugs Drive Medicare Costs

Connecticut seniors on Medicare are more likely to take sedatives for insomnia and medications for depression than their counterparts across the country, according to a new report by Dartmouth researchers.

An analysis of state data in a national report by the Dartmouth Atlas Project shows that Connecticut's Medicare program relies heavily on brand-name drugs, versus generics, especially in wealthy towns in Fairfield County -- a factor that could be contributing to the state's ranking in the top 10 nationally in prescription drug spending per patient.

Connecticut seniors spent an average of $2,795 on medications in 2010 -- 45 percent higher than the lowest-spending state, Minnesota, and the highest rate in New England.

The new report provides an in-depth look at how prescription drugs are used by Medicare beneficiaries, ages 65 and older, in the program's Part D drug benefit, which had 37 million enrollees in 2012. It shows wide variations in the use of both effective and risky drugs among the 306 regional health care markets across the U.S.

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Source: News Times