by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Aug 31, 2011 | Drug Prices, Healthcare Reform
A new report by the Commonwealth Fund, from their 2010 Biennial Health Insurance Survey, shows that 48 million Americans, ages 19-64, did not fill a prescription due to cost in 2010, up from 29 million in 2001 – a 66% increase. The study includes both insured and uninsured Americans but does not include children and seniors. The study indicates that the recession has greatly exacerbated the national crisis of prescription non-adherence (skipping medications), as nine out of 16 million Americans who have lost their job have also lost their health insurance.
It is difficult to estimate the sickness and even death that has resulted from so many millions of Americans not taking their prescribed medication due to cost. As evidenced by the new report, the situation is particularly dire for uninsured Americans with chronic medical conditions, as 27 million “skipped doses or did not fill a prescription for their condition because of the cost.” (more…)
Tagged with: Affordable Care Act, Biennial Health Insurance Survey, chronic, Commonwealth Fund, consumer guide, health insurance, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, prescription costs, skipping medicine, United States
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Aug 17, 2011 | Drug Prices, Medicare Drug Plans
An estimated 43,000 residents of Illinois will find it more difficult, if not impossible, to afford their prescription medication due to heavy budget cuts, according to the Chicago Tribune. Specifically, funding for the Illinois Cares Rx program, which subsidizes the cost of medicine and payments associated with Medicare drug benefits, will be cut in half, from $107.4 million to $53.7 million. Illinois Cares Rx includes people with a Medicare drug plan and others who have no drug benefits at all.
With the cuts in place beginning September 1st, 2011, the Illinois Cares Rx program will only be available to those residents earning 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level – or $21,780 annually, down from a higher threshold of 240%, or $27,610. Even the 173,500 remaining in the program will “face higher co-payments for prescriptions — in some cases, double the amount they were previously paying.” (more…)
Tagged with: Chicago Tribune, consumer guide, discount drug cards, enrollment, generic drug programs, generics, Illinois, Illinois Cares Rx, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, PharmacyChecker Verification Program, prescriptions, Target, Wal-Mart
by PharmacyChecker.com | Jul 29, 2011 | Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
PharmacyChecker.com was mentioned this week in a U.S. News and World Report article entitled How to Cut Your Drug Costs. Listed among other effective ways to save money on prescription drugs, the article notes that PharmacyChecker “compares prices of mail-order pharmacies, and can help you find the lowest posted prices.”
How to Cut Your Drug Costs reminds readers that buying drugs from Canada – and elsewhere overseas – is technically illegal, but it quotes AARP: “Over the past decade millions of Americans have ignored U.S. law to seek cheaper prices from Canada, most often by mail order.” Notably, AARP found Canadian prices for Lipitor to be about a third less than they are here in the U.S. The fact that the FDA has (to our knowledge) never prosecuted an individual for importing a three-month supply of personal, non-controlled drugs with a valid prescription, means that they too understand the importance of access to safe and affordable medication. (more…)
Tagged with: AARP, brand name drugs, Canada, chain stores, consumer guide, Costco, CVS, drug costs, drugs from canada, generics, Kroger, mail-order pharmacies, Medicare, medicare plan finder, patents, personal drug importation, prescription drugs, Target, U.S. News and World Report, Wal-Mart
