New Study Shows Prescription Drug Use on the Rise

More than half of insured Americans take prescription medication regularly, according to a new study from Medco Health Solutions. The most commonly used drugs last year were for treatment of heart disease, obesity and diabetes, while the sharpest rise (20 percent from 2001 to 2007) was in the 20- to 40-year-old age range, to treat depression, asthma and attention-deficit disorder. Medical experts cite a range of factors for the recent jump, namely advertising by pharmaceutical companies, an overall worsening public health, especially due to obesity, and simply more medications and treatments.

Three-quarters of Americans say prescription drugs developed over the past 20 years have positively impacted quality of life. And while eight in 10 say increased health care expenses have caused them to try to take better care of themselves, just 28 percent say they've skipped doses of their medication. But the public is somewhat misguided in their perception of what might be driving up health care costs -- when asked to name the biggest contributors, they say excess profits by drug and insurance companies, malpractice lawsuits and fraud.