Coalition members say that has contributed to a steep rise in drug spending.

First, the budget office assumes faster growth in drug spending for the elderly.

The $2,250 is a measure of total drug spending.

The $3,600 is a measure of out-of-pocket costs; it corresponds to about $5,100 in total drug spending.

Five years ago, you never would have expected that drug spending is where it is.

As a result, her drug spending appeared much higher than it actually was.

The administration assumed that per capita drug spending would rise 35 percent from 2003 to 2006.

Next year, the program is expected to cost almost $50 billion - almost 20 percent of overall American drug spending.

But they say they have no reliable models to predict drug spending.

Since then, Texas, Ohio and many other states have taken aggressive action to control drug spending.