Study: U.S. prescription drug spending to accelerate

A report by CMS’s Office of the Actuary predicts average spending growth of prescription drugs will outpace most large health care goods and services, averaging 6.3% growth per year for the next decade.

The expected faster growth will be driven by a shift to spending on specialty drugs, and the study predicts prescription drug spending will hit $604.8 billion by 2026, nearly double present levels...