Americans spending more than $50k/year on drugs up 63% in 2014 to $52 billion

This is stunning. The total cost of perscription drugs for patients spending more than $50k/year increased 63% in 2014 to $52 billion.

Will drug costs bankrupt us before we stop paying them?

Extract from Reuters article:

Number of Americans using $100,000 in medicines triples -Express Scripts

May 13 More than a half-million U.S. patients had medication costs in excess of $50,000 in 2014, an increase of 63 percent from the prior year, as doctors prescribed more expensive specialty drugs for diseases such as cancer and hepatitis C, according to an Express Scripts report released on Wednesday.

Of the estimated 575,000 Americans who used at least $50,000 in prescription medicines last year, about 139,000 used at least $100,000 worth of medication, nearly triple the 47,000 who hit that mark in 2013, the report said.

The total cost to health plans for U.S. patients with prescription drug expenses in excess of $50,000 was $52 billion in 2014,Express Scripts said in its report: "Super Spending: Trends in High-Cost Medication Use."