Here’s yet another reason to go for generic drugs when you can: drug makers keep raising prices on brand name products. If you group generics and brand names together, drug prices rose by 3.4% in 2009, according to an industry report. However, if you look at just brand name drugs as the AARP did in a new report, the average price hike was 8.3%. An earlier AARP report from May points out that if you look at specialty drugs “widely used by people in Medicare” then the hike jumps to 9.2%.

The closer you get to the top of the popularity chart for brand name drugs, the worse it gets: the most popular brands jumped 41.5%.

The AARP will release the new study later today.

“AARP Says Brand-Name Drug Prices Up 8% in 2009” [New York Times]
“AARP Report Finds Largest Brand Name Drug Price Spike in Eight Years While General Inflation Remains Near Zero” [AARP]

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