New Guidelines Recommending More Take Cholesterol Drugs Could Boost Premiums, USA Today Says

New cholesterol guidelines released May 16 by the NIH, which call for "increased screening and treatment," may lead to increased drug industry revenue and higher health insurance premiums, USA Today reports (Appleby, USA Today, 5/17). The 200-page guidelines broaden the definition of people considered good candidates for aggressive cholesterol drug treatment, proposing that the number of Americans on cholesterol-lowering drugs triple to 36 million and that the number on cholesterol-lowering diets increase from 52 million to 65 million (American Health Line, 5/16). Analysts say that drug firms will gain from the increased sales -- estimated to grow by about 20% annually "for years" -- and that the costs of increased medication use "will ultimately be borne by consumer," in the form of higher insurance costs. Todd Richter, of Banc of America Securities, said, "Insurers will ... have to pay for these drugs and pass that cost along directly to employers, who will raise co-payments and deductibles for their workers." C. Daniel Mullins, an associate professor at the University of Maryland, said that while the health benefits from the new guidelines will ultimately translate into cost savings for the health care system, those savings "could be years away" (USA Today, 5/17).