In the United States Lipitor, used for cholesterol, taken daily for three months costs around $321.30 while in neighboring Canada it’s average cost is $164.34. For U.S. consumers, prescription drugs and over the counter medication for cardiovascular disease, depression, asthma and other conditions, are marked up to a minimum of thirty-one percent (Reducing). Imagine having to pay these prices on regular basis. Nearly sixteen percent of the American population (47 million people), cannot afford medical insurance or it is not provided for them by their employers (Reducing).
In 2006 the Medicare Part D benefit was passed and according to the study of the first year it seems to be somewhat effective in lowering the prescription costs for senior citizens. According to the study, released by the Annals of Internal Medicine, the program led to a seventeen percent decrease in the amount that senior citizens are having to pay out-of-pocket, which averages about $9 a month (Jaspen). This added about 14 days of extra medicine to most people who signed up and a nine percent increase in actual prescription usage. According to the authors of the study, the program is working, although the increase in usage is not shocking (Jaspen).
In the documentary Sicko by Michael Moore, there is a story of an elderly man who is unable to afford prescriptions for him and his wife without working. The man is seventy-nine years old and is working at a grocery store, his duties include cleaning restrooms, cleaning isles and taking out the trash. Medicare covers him, but he still cannot afford their prescriptions. Unfortunately for him, retirement is nowhere in his future and according to him “he will be working until the day he dies,” just to afford the medicines that him and his wife need. This story proves that although Medicare is somewhat of assistance to the elderly it is nowhere near enough. This refutes the claim that the program is working and illustrates clearly that it is not. A seventy-nine year old man working to afford what is necessary for him to live out his life is simply pathetic and good indication of the sad state that American health care is in at this point (Sicko).
Currently in the United States there is a huge amount of adults ages nineteen to sixty four that are not filling their prescriptions simply because of the outrageous costs (Dorgan). This includes those who are uninsured as well as those who are covered by insurance. Forty three percent of these adults are uninsured while eighteen percent of them carry insurance. Another scary fact is how some people skip doses, or cut pills in half in order to make medication last longer (Americans).
On January 10 of 2007 Byron Dorgan, and other senators joined the fight in order to lower the cost of highly priced prescription drugs. According to Byron Dorgan, the United States pays the highest prices for prescription drugs, than other industrialized country in the world. In fact, many Americans in border cities will cross the border and buy prescription drugs in order to save money. One of the acts that are trying to be passed by Byron Dorgan is the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act. This bill will allow American consumers, pharmacies, and drug wholesalers to import FDA approved drugs at much lower costs (Dorgan). The CBO believes that this act of legislation will save approximately fifty billion dollars over the next decade, including six billion dollars in saving for the federal government. The legislation not only makes the drug importation legal but also in turn will make it safer (Dorgan).
As a group we feel that the government could and should play a larger role in what is happening with American health care. Without government intervention in the near future we feel the prescription drugs will be out of reach for the large majority of the population, especially those in poverty or low-income situations. The government could easily regulate the costs that are being charged by drug companies and institute some sort of universal prescription program for every United States citizen.