The cost of some low-cost generic drugs is going up, according to an Associated Press report.
Some generic drugs, which typically cost 30 to 80 percent less than brand versions, are experiencing price spikes up to 8,000 percent, according to the report.
In the report, experts attribute the price hikes to factors such as "drug ingredient shortages, industry consolidation and production slowdowns due to manufacturing problems."
"If generic drug prices continue to rise then we are going to have people all over this country who are sick and need medicine and who simply will not be able to buy the medicine they need," said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, in the report.
But Sen. Sanders has introduced a bill to address the issue.
Under the bill, generic drugmakers would have to give rebates to the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs "when prices of their medications outpace inflation," according to the report.
In October, letters were sent to those who make 10 generic drugs that have increased in price by over 300 percent or more in recent months, according to the report.
Those 10 drugs, according to the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, don't take into account the broader U.S. market, "which includes 12,000 generic medications that have reduced drug costs by billions," the report reads.
However, in the report, pharmaceutical experts attributed the price increases to "broader price increases for generics, which have traditionally fallen over time."
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