http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/business/aarp-study-says-price-of-popular-drugs-rose-26.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y The clue to why this report is important comes, no surprise, at the very end. Note the mention of the "doughnut hole." If you are not familiar with that term, it's the you-couldn't-make-this-stuff-up part of the prescription drug bill, written by a big pharma executive and passed during the 2nd administration of He Who Shall Not Be Named. The real effect of the doughnut hole is to repay to big pharma all the $$$ saved by seniors on their first $2,500 or so of prescription drug coverage. At that threshold, the doughnut hole opens, and seniors have to pay the full price of their drugs until the hole closes at about $5,000. THE FULL PRICE OF THEIR DRUGS!! Only in America could such a mean-spirited, head-up-the-ass provision pass. As the reporter notes, the increases reported by the AARP mean that seniors are propelled faster toward the yawning maw of the doughnut hole, so big pharma gets its $$$ even faster! The other point worth noting is generics. Any doctor or pharmacist will tell you, if asked, that many generics are less potent or efficacious than the full-strength name brand variant. So, no surprise that they cost less. Pay special attention, too, to the fact that insurance companies report paying out more for name-brand drugs. Who do you think will make up this "loss" experienced by the insurance companies? IT'S ALL OF US!! Read this article and understand an important reason why health care and health insurance costs continue to rise.