Fact Checker: Is Clinton right about spike in prescription drug use, cost?

Introduction

'Seven out of 10 Americans take prescription drugs.”

'In the last seven years, drug prices have doubled.”

Source of claims: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton included these claims in the TV ad 'Doubled”, which started airing on Eastern Iowa television stations earlier this month.

Analysis

Clinton's ad highlights her plans, if elected, to require Medicare to negotiate lower prices with drug companies, end monthly drug caps and allow Americans to buy cheaper drugs from Canada and other places.

To emphasize why reforms are needed, she claims 7 of 10 Americans take prescription meds. Clinton's campaign pointed to a 2013 study by the Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center in which 68 percent of 142,000 Minnesotans were prescribed one medicine in 2009, and more than half were prescribed two.

Antibiotics, antidepressants and painkillers were the most commonly prescribed, according to the study by the Rochester, Minn. hospitals.

Another study published in November in the Journal of the American Medical Association found an estimated 59 percent of U.S. adults reported using prescription drugs in 2011-2012 - up from 51 percent in 1999-2000.

For Clinton's second claim about drug costs doubling since 2008, the campaign cited an April 25 Wall Street Journal story.

That story reported annual drug trends from Express Scripts Holding Company, a St. Louis-based pharmacy benefit manager of more than a billion prescriptions each year.

A Fact Checker review of Express Scripts annual reports since 2008 show specialty drugs have gone up in price 127 percent - which is more than double.

These niche drugs treat rare diseases and the pharmaceutical industry justifies their costs - sometimes tens of thousands of dollars per prescription - because of the research and development. However, recent news reports have shown some companies jacking up the price of already-developed drugs.

But specialty drugs make up only about 1 percent of all prescription drugs, Express Scripts reports. Traditional drugs that treat large groups of patients, such as those with high blood pressure or diabetes, make up the bulk of prescription meds and are generally cheaper. Including traditional and specialty drugs, prescription drug costs went up by 37 percent since 2008.

Conclusion

Clinton's claim 7 of 10 Americans are on prescription drugs is supported by the Mayo Clinic, regarded as one of the best hospitals in the nation. You could question whether the population of Minnesota is representative of the nation at large.

The more recent JAMA study estimated that nearly 6 of 10 Americans were on prescription meds in 2011-2012.

Clinton's second claim indicates all drug costs have doubled since 2008. This is misleading because research shows those numbers relate to only specialty drugs. When you include the large volume of traditional drugs, the price increase for all prescription drugs since 2008 is 37 percent.

Overall, we give the claims analyzed in Clinton's TV ad a C.

CRITERIA

The Fact Checker team checks statements

made by an Iowa political candidate/office holder or a national candidate/office holder about Iowa, or in advertisements that appear in our market. Claims must be independently verifiable. We give statements grades from A to F based on accuracy and context. If you spot a claim you think needs checking, email us at factchecker@thegazette.com.

' This Fact Checker was researched and written by Erin Jordan.