How High Drug Prices Weigh on the Sickest Americans

The more drugs people take and the sicker they are, the more likely they are to experience problems paying for prescription medicines–or to forgo them altogether because of cost. It may not be surprising that people who use more drugs have the greatest problems paying for them. It’s also never a good thing when people with the greatest need struggle the most to pay for health care.

Eighty percent of people who are in excellent, very good, or good health and who are currently taking prescription medicine say it is easy or somewhat easy to pay for their prescription drugs, Kaiser Family Foundation polling has found. But, as the chart above shows, 43% of people in fair or poor health and 38% of those taking four or more drugs a year say it is somewhat or very difficult to pay for their medications. An identical 43% of those in fair or poor health and 35% of those taking four or more drugs say they did not fill a prescription or say they cut pills in half or skipped doses because of cost.

The pattern holds for seniors on Medicare as well. Twenty percent of seniors taking prescription medicine report difficulty paying for their drugs. Among seniors taking four or more medications, the share rises to 29%. A relatively small number of people on Medicare also take high-priced specialty-tier drugs that have been in the news. Even when a specialty medication is covered by a Medicare drug plan, patients can pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for just one drug unless they get cost assistance from government or a drug company.

While insurance companies and drug companies tussle over the high cost of drugs and policy makers debate potential actions, the fact that people with the greatest needs bear the brunt of high drug prices adds urgency to the problem.

Source Link

Recommended Articles

White House Leaves One Trump-Era Policy Alone

The Biden administration has gutted many of former President Donald Trump’s health care policies, but there’s one that the White House has yet to touch, Kelly reports. It’s a 2019 rule that expanded individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, or ICHRAs, which allowed employers to provide tax-exempt subsidies to help workers purchase Obamacare plans. The Biden administration’s ...

Read More

Court Strikes Down HHS Rule that Allowed Insurers to Not Count Copay Assistance

In a major victory for patients who depend on prescription drugs, Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down a Trump administration federal rule that allowed health insurers to not count drug manufacturer copay assistance towards a beneficiary’s out-of-pocket costs. The case was brought against the U.S. Department of Health and ...

Read More

Lawmakers, Payers And Providers All Air Grievances With Federal No Surprises Act Implementation

Amid a flurry of partisan roadblocks rolling out across Capitol Hill, representatives on both sides of the aisle came together Tuesday to critique federal agencies’ rollout of the No Surprises Act and throw their support behind court-ordered rewrites of independent dispute resolution (IDR) regulations. During a hearing exploring the “flawed implementation” of the law intended ...

Read More

As Biden Plans To Ban Medical Debt From Credit Scores, Advocates Press For More Change

The dramatic impact of medical debt on credit scores may soon be a thing of the past. On Thursday, the White House announced a plan outlined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to eliminate medical debt from credit reports. The move — which follows an earlier decision from the three main credit bureaus to eliminate paid medical debt, medical ...

Read More
arrowcaret-downclosefacebook-squarehamburgerinstagram-squarelinkedin-squarepauseplaytwitter-squareyoutube-square