Medicare prescription drug costs falling

Medicare prescription drug costs are falling. Drug spending has dropped significantly, largely because of a loss of patent protection for several commonly used high-cost drugs and fewer than projected brand-name drugs being introduced into the market.

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office further explains that far fewer people have enrolled in Part D than originally projected.  As a result, Medicare drug spending in 2013 was $50 billion, about half of what the CBO projected in 2003.In 2013, there were 39 million enrollees in the Part D drug program, 12 percent fewer than projected ten years before.