In 2009, the prices of the most popular brand-name drugs used by American seniors rose 8.3 percent, according to AARP researchers who looked at 217 brand-name drugs.
They also noted that the price of those medications increased seven percent in 2008, and that the retail price of brand-name drugs climbed 41.5 percent between 2004 and 2009, while the consumer price index rose only 13.3 percent during the same period, ABC News reported.
The increases mean that a person who takes three brand-name drugs now pays an average of $1,900 more each year for medicine, said the study.
"Something is out of whack here about no increases in the rest of the economy and very substantial (increases) with pharmaceuticals," said AARP's John Rother, ABC News reported.
The study did note that a growing number of Americans are turning to generic drugs.