The high cost of seniors’ soaring Rx drug use

If you had to guess which age group among Americans takes the most prescription drugs, you’d most likely go with the oldest. And you’d be right.

A recent study found that almost half (47 percent) of Americans age 75 and older took five or more prescription drugs in 2011, nearly double the 24 percent that did so in 1999, just 12 years earlier. The comparable percentage for Americans 65 to 74 also increased significantly — from 23 percent in 1999 to 33 percent in 2011.

Read the full article by Center on Longevity Research Scholar Steve Vernon at CBS MoneyWatch.