Drug Prices Continue to Soar. Pharmaceutical companies' power to raise prices is firmly intact despite pushback from health insurers, scrutiny by U.S. lawmakers and anxiety about rising prescription drug spending, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reports that more than two-thirds of the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies said price increases boosted sales of some or most of their biggest products in the first quarter. Rising prices and increased use of expensive new medicines are behind a surge in U.S. drug spending. Per-capita spending on Medicare's prescription drug program, known as Part D, rose 11.6% last year, more than it had "historically because of price increases for brand-name drugs" and other factors, according to a June report by the board of trustees overseeing Medicare benefits. Total benefit spending on the program rose 15.1% to $89.5 billion last year. The report projected that per-beneficiary Part D spending will grow by 75% from 2015 to 2025, compared with a 37% rise in hospital spending and 57% increase in doctors' costs. (Wall Street Journal, 7/15)

Increases in National Health Spending. An HHS report released last Wednesday predicts a 5.7% annual increase in national health spending from 2017 to 2019 and 6% annual growth from 2020 to 2025, while per-person health spending is projected to be $10,345 this year, totaling $3.35 trillion for the nation. Medicare is expected to spend an average of almost $18,000 per beneficiary by 2025 when the program will cover 20% of Americans, and Medicaid is projected to spend about $12,500 per beneficiary by 2025, up from $8,000 last year. (New York Times, 7/13)