46% Of Americans Have Taken A Prescription Drug Within The Last 30 Days

Nearly half of people in the US 

are taking prescription drugs, 

a recent report revealed.

I downloaded the report 

In May, but didn't read 

it until now, probably

because I don't take any

prescription drugs.

The survey also found 

that 85% of Americans 

over the age of 60 

are currently taking 

at least one 

pharmaceutical drug.

The survey, 

covering the years

2015 and 2016

was from the 

National Center for 

Health Statistics:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db334-h.pdf

Almost half of Americans 

have taken a pharmaceutical 

drug within the past 30 days, 

making “the most medicated 

country in the world”. 

The average American spends 

$1,200 a year on prescription 

drugs -- of course some of us

spend nothing at all.  

It has been estimated that 

Americans spend somewhere 

around $200 billion a year 

on drugs they do not need.

11.4% of 20- to 59-year-olds 

had taken a drug to help 

with their mood in the 

last month when they took 

the survey.

Example of several problems

within the industry that both 

Republicans and  Democrats 

talk about, and could do something

about, in the next year or two:

(1)

A study, published in the journal Neurology, 

found that the average out-of-pocket costs 

for people taking medications 

for multiple sclerosis had risen 

the greatest over the past 12 years, 

costing 20 times more in 2016 than in 2004.

(2)

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals hiked the

price of their drug Firdapse,

that makes it possible for people 

with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic 

syndrome (LEMS) to be able to walk,

all the way up to $375,000 a year.

Fortunately, the FDA soon approved

a separate drug forLEMS -- a disease

that weakens and fatigues muscles, 

causing agonizing pain to the point 

at which patients struggle to walk.