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Driven by innovative but pricey new drugs for hepatitis C, U.S. spending on prescription drugs jumped 13% last year to a record $374 billion, according to an industry report. The new hepatitis C drugs accounted for more than $11 billion of the spending, according to a report by IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, an industry research firm. Its annual report analyzes pharmaceutical sales, top-selling drugs and trends in the industry. (Pfeifer, 4/14)

People newly covered by Medicaid drove a significant increase in prescription drug use in 2014, even as those with private commercial coverage filled fewer prescriptions and, over all, patients did not visit the doctor as often, according to a new report by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, which tracks the health industry. (Thomas, 4/15)

U.S. spending on prescription drugs saw the largest increase since 2001, with the nation’s pharmacy bill rising to $373.9 billion last year as new treatments came to market and manufacturers increased prices on old ones. (Burger, 4/14)

U.S. spending on prescription drugs soared last year, driven up primarily by costly breakthrough medicines, manufacturer price hikes and a surge from millions of people newly insured due to the Affordable Care Act. Spending rose 13 percent, the biggest jump since 2001, to a total of $374 billion, according to a report released Tuesday by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. (Johnson, 4/14)

Prescription drug spending spiked 13.1 percent last year — the highest increase since 2001 — as dozens of new drugs came on the market and fewer brand medicines lost their patent protections, according to a report released Tuesday. (Norman, 4/14)