Posted by ChrisK on June 6, 2000, at 7:49:46
This article was in today's Albany Times Union (NY). It's interesting that people here are willing to drive 4 hours to get prescriptions filled and that there at least a few legislators who are willing to try to do something about our current prices. This doesn't affext me personally as I have insurance with a fairly low co-pay but I feel for the seniors involved.
"Cheaper drugs a bus ride away
Albany -- As 15 seniors head for Canada to fill prescriptions, state lawmakers look for a solution to their problemFifteen elderly people boarded a bus here Monday bound for Montreal. Yet all they really wanted to do was walk to their corner pharmacy.
In a pilgrimage to draw attention to the high costs of prescription drugs, the senior citizens traveled to Montreal where, as in most foreign countries, they can save substantially on medications.
"I just can't afford the drug prices in Albany, so I'm going to Canada to see if I can save a little money,'' said Reginald Black, a 78-year-old retired seaman. He spends $1,100 annually on three prescribed drugs. He said he needs a fourth, but it would take another $3,000 from his fixed income of $19,000. The needed drug, Lescol for cholesterol control, would cost about $784 annually in Canada, according to Public Citizen, which helped organize the bus trip.
At the Capitol, some politicians sympathized while criticizing drug makers for the disparity between U.S. drug prices and those everywhere else.
"The shame is not all on the prescription drug companies,'' said Sen. John Marchi, R-Staten Island. "The shame is on us, too, if we fail to respond in a constructive way.''
Marchi has been pushing for a bill for two years that would prevent drug companies from charging prices in New York that are any higher than the cost of their products anywhere in the world.
If that bill becomes law, the drugs would be priced the lowest in the world. Currently, New York's prices are higher than those in Italy, France, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany, which range from 30.5 percent to 47.9 percent less.
Although Marchi doubts his bill will pass this year, he said he will continue to push it. A compromise package may be possible, he indicated, allowing the state to do group buying for all public agencies, which could give Medicare patients cheaper prices. Such a compromise bill would give drug companies two years to bring down prices or face regulatory price controls.
Senate Health Committee Chairman Kemp Hannon is sponsoring a group buying bill.
U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Saugerties, who spoke to the group of New Yorkers as they boarded the bus, is supporting a bill in Congress that would require drug companies to charge everyone the same prices charged to Veterans Hospitals, which is a substantial discount.
"We need a system of national health insurance so that the government can negotiate with drug companies,'' Hinchey added.
The high costs of drugs hurt hospitals as well as consumers, said Robert Glenning, vice president for finance at Albany Memorial and Samaritan hospitals.
"That's the fastest growing expense we see. We tend to work break-even ... that's a lot of costs without any offsetting revenue,'' he said. "It could push some hospitals beyond the breaking point.''
Drug costs rose 31 percent from 1997 to 1999 and another 13 percent in the first four months of 2000, he said. "
poster:ChrisK
thread:36275
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000603/msgs/36275.html