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Hold on to your wallets — the growth in spending on prescription drugs is forecast to more than double this year.

Spending will increase by 6.6 percent in 2018, compared with a 2.9 percent increase last year, according to new estimates released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In actual dollars, spending on medicines is projected to reach $360.2 billion, up from $338.1 billion.

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The expected increase is being attributed to several factors.

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