Prescription drug prices in the United States are the highest in the world. The costs of retail prescription medications have increased on average 3.6 percent annually (1999 to 2009).
The rising cost of prescription medication is significantly impacting consumers. A recent study revealed that 12 percent of seniors choose not to fill prescriptions as a result of cost. In my opinion, this figure is substantially higher, and not unique to seniors.
As the recession continues to smolder in our economy, its implications are apparent in most households when it comes to purchasing prescription medication. Individuals and families are actively seeking creative solutions, and less expensive alternatives. Several of my patients have admittedly taken medication every other day, cutting pills in half, all in an effort to ration personal supply and decrease out-of-pocket costs.
Recently, one of my patients disclosed she had not taken her blood pressure and diabetic medication for the past nine months. Choices like this may have potentially dangerous consequences. Failing to take blood pressure medication daily can result in an unexpected trip to a hospital emergency room, as a result of a heart attack or stroke. Choosing not to take antibiotics as directed by your doctor, can allow an infection to spread, resulting in a lengthy and costly hospitalization.
Solutions
U.S. customs estimates that each year 10 million Americans purchase and transport prescription medications across borders; this is not illegal. Brand-name medications are significantly cheaper in foreign countries including Canada, the United Kingdom and India.
Foreign-based on-line pharmacies can save consumers 60 to 80 percent. However, beware as the product may not be what you ordered. A patient of mine ordered a medication online from India. After taking the pills for a few days he was perplexed, as the medication was not working as well. He had the pills analyzed at a laboratory, only to discover that one of the ingredients was chalk.
Safer, domestic solutions for decreasing the cost of brand-name mediations are available. Ask your doctor to switch your medication to a generic equivalent, if available. For example, pricey, brand-name cholesterol medications (statins) can cost $180 for a 90-day supply. An effective and cheaper generic equivalent (i.e., Lovastatin, Simvastatin) costs only $10 for three months.
Visit the manufacturer’s website for the brand-name medication. Many have downloadable coupons that you can take to your pharmacy for a free 30-day supply. Some offer “certificates/cards” that enable consumers to receive free monthly medication for only the cost of a co-pay. Other manufactures will even pay for an entire year supply of the medication, provided you quality based on income.
Partners for Prescription Assistance (www.pparx.org) is a nationwide prescription assistance program founded in 2005. They offer more than 2,500 brand-name and generic medications for substantially less or free. Another similar website is NeedMeds.com.
For seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D (prescription program) approximately one-fourth fall into a “doughnut hole.”
Currently, this program limits prescription drug assistance when an individual’s yearly drug costs surpass $2,840. The plan then kicks in again when an individual’s drug costs reach $4,550. This gap between these two figures is called the coverage gap, or “doughnut hole.”
This year seniors who fall into this gap will receive a 50-percent discount on brand-name prescription medications, and 7-percent discount on generics. Thankfully, the “doughnut hole” will finally close in 2020.
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Dr. Linda Petter of Auburn is a weekly feature on KOMO TV/News Radio (1000 AM & 97.7 FM) every Sunday live 7:45 a.m., and a columnist for the Auburn Reporter. She trained at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Illinois, Carle Hospital. Dr. Petter is chief of the Department of Family Practice at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, WA. She is a consumer healthcare advocate, and her books, “Healthcare On a Budget” and “Common Medical Sense”, are available on Amazon.com. Please visit her website, www.DocForAll.com, or call her office at 253-568-0841.
