Uninsured consumers in Denver,
Colorado are charged much higher prices for prescription drugs than the best
available market prices, according to a
survey released today by CoPIRG. The group criticized proposed Congressional
reforms, urging state governments to instead form prescription drug buying pools.
"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 to buy the same drugs in bulk
for large groups of consumers," said Rex Wilmouth, state director with
CoPIRG.
"HMOs and the federal
government use their buying power to negotiate fairer prices for the drugs they
purchase," continued Wilmouth. "Unfortunately, uninsured consumers
have no one doing the same on their behalf so drug companies are making money
hand over fist, profiting the most from chronically-ill Americans without prescription
drug coverage."
Using a list of 10 frequently
prescribed medications, CoPIRG joined state PIRGs across the country to survey
more than 500 pharmacies in 19 states and determine how much more uninsured
consumers pay for these medications than one of the pharmaceutical industry's
"most favored" customers, the federal government.
Among the key findings were
the following:
On average, uninsured
consumers in Denver Colorado have to pay 64% more for the 10 common prescription
medications than the federal government. The price differences ranged from 27%
for Celebrex to 101% for K-Dur 20.
Nationally, uninsured
Americans pay 72% more on average for these 10 common prescription medications
than the federal government.
Of the major metropolitan
areas surveyed, the four most expensive cities in which to buy prescription
drugs were Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston.
In June, both the House
and Senate passed versions of the Bush administration's Medicare reform bill
that would establish a prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. The
bills require recipients to join regional private health insurance plans to
obtain the new drug benefit.
"These bills fail to
address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs and do nothing to help the
millions of Americans without prescription drug coverage who do not qualify
for Medicare," said Dennis Roe, health care advocate with Colorado Progressive
Coalition.
CoPIRG called for policy
reforms to close the loopholes that allow companies to block lower-priced generic
versions of their drugs from reaching the marketplace. CoPIRG also urged states
to create prescription drug-buying pools that would allow businesses, the government
and individuals of all ages to use their combined buying power to negotiate
lower drug prices.
"This is a practical,
time-tested, free market approach to lowering prescription drug costs,"
Representative Jack Pommer says. A similar program is already working in Maine.
Drug companies had sued to block the Maine program, but the Supreme Court in
May ruled against the companies and declared the Maine program constitutional.
"Prescription drug
buying pools are simply good medicine for runaway health care costs," concluded
Wilmouth.
