FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Uninsured Pay More for Prescription Drugs, Report Says

By Julie Ishida Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, July 16, 2003;

 

July 16, 2003 -- Washington Post

Uninsured Pay More for Prescription Drugs, Report Says

Uninsured consumers, including millions of seniors without prescription
drug coverage, pay an average of 72 percent more than the federal government
for medications, according to a survey issued yesterday by the U.S. Public
Interest Research Group. Among the highest were prices paid by uninsured
people in Baltimore, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia.

The report adds ammunition to liberal criticism that the Medicare drug
bills now moving through Congress fail to address the problem of rising
pharmaceutical costs.

"When the 41 million uninsured Americans go it alone at the drug store,
they pay the price -- sometimes more than double what government agencies
pay,"said Edmund Mierzwinski, consumer program director for U.S. PIRG.

Last month, the House and Senate passed legislation to add drug coverage
beginning in 2006 under Medicare, the federal health insurance program
for 40 million senior and disabled Americans, at a cost of $4.5000 billion over
a decade.

Federal agencies use their buying power to negotiate with pharmaceutical
companies for steep discounts; the bills bar the government from
negotiating for Medicare recipients.

The report was based on a spring survey of more than 500 pharmacies in
18 states and the District of Columbia that compared what uninsured
consumers and the government paid for 10 commonly prescribed medications. They
included the cholesterol drug Lipitor, the anti-inflammatory medication
Celebrex and Prilosec, for acid reflux.

U.S. PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, based its comparisons on the price
that the Veterans Administration, Department of Defense, Coast Guard,
and Public Health Service pay for prescription drugs. The organization
recommended drug buying pools, more information on effectiveness of
similar drugs and more access to generics.

"If the private-sector approach is good enough for members of Congress,
then it ought to be good enough for elderly patients," said Jeffrey Trewhitt
of PhRMA, the trade association for research-based pharmaceutical
companies.

© 2003 The Washington Post Company

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