Data Updates

Between 2004 and 2006, allergic rhinitis patients saw their average annual payments for 2nd generation antihistamines decrease, to $225 from $253. Similar declines occurred in the other three markets profiled, most notably in the St. Louis MSA, in which annual payments for 2nd generation antihistamines dropped to $144 in 2006 from $164 in 2004. By comparison, annual payments for leukotrienes increased for allergic rhinitis patients in all markets profiled during this same period. For example, national per-patient payments were $438 in 2006, up from $396 in 2004.