Pharmaceuticals represent approximately 10% of total health care expenditures versus hospital, physician and clinical services representing approximately 51% of

Pharmaceuticals represent approximately 10% of total health care expenditures versus hospital, physician and clinical services representing approximately 51% of total health care expenditures (for the latest estimated year of spending, 2010) [1]. Within Medicare, prescription drugs account for 11% of total Medicare expenditures and are projected to be 13.5% of total expenditures by 2021 [1]. Further, the prescription drug benefit ("Part D") has cost about 30% less than estimated by the CBO when the Medicare Modernization Act was passed (2003) [2]. This is due to a variety of factors, but a huge one has been lower-than-expected growth rates in per capita spending on prescription drugs, estimated at 4% per year since 2006 [2], much lower than overall growth in health spending. [1] http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/Proj2011PDF.pdf http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Stat... [2] http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/8308.pdf http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/8308.pdf