Rx spending out of the spotlight?

Executive Summary

Prescription drugs dropped to third place among spending categories driving overall health care cost increases in 2001, a Sept. 25 analysis by the Center for Studying Health System Change shows. Hospital cost increases (particularly for outpatient services) and payment for physician services outpaced Rx spending as a growth driver. Hospital costs represented more than half the overall increase in health care spending in 2001; physician services accounted for 28%. Rx costs accounted for 21% of the increase, down from 34% two years ago...