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American Morning

Study Finds Seniors Reaching Deeper Into Pockets for Prescription Drugs

Aired June 12, 2001 - 13:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A new report says older Americans are reaching deeper into their pocketbooks to pay for the drugs that they need. Families USA, a group that supports federal prescription drug benefits, conducted a study of the 50 medicines most commonly used by the elderly.

It says the prices of one-third of those drugs rose last year at three or more times the inflation rate. Three-quarters rose at 1 1/2 or more times the inflation rate. And only one-sixth rose at less than the inflation rate.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Washington to kind of hammer out all those numbers we just gave there -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, there are a lot of them.

If you live on a fixed income, the slow rise in the cost of living is like a silent sea. But if you're elderly and on certain drugs, the cost rise is more like a gunman breaking down your door and stealing the silverware.

While inflation rose less than 3 percent the past year, the cost of Synthroid, a synthetic thyroid agent, shot up 22.6 percent. Alphogan, used to treat glaucoma, went up 22.5 percent, eight times the inflation rate. And the popular diabetes treatment Glucophage rose 15.5 percent in price in the last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D), MICHIGAN: There is no good reason. There's no acceptable reason for the dramatic increase in the prices that we have seen. And, unfortunately, if you don't have insurance in our country, you're paying the highest possible price.

SEN. PAUL WELLSTONE (D), MINNESOTA: I think that this study calls on all of us here in the House and in the Senate and in our states to turn up the heat and to pass a decent prescription drug benefit for people.

And, by the way, a decent benefit means that the co-pays can't be so high and the deductibles so high that a lot of elderly people can't afford it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Those remarks by the two Senators came at a news conference called by the consumer group Families USA. Its president, Ron Pollack, pointed out 10 of the top 50 drugs are generics, and seven of those had no increase in price the past year. But, of course, generics are not always available or acceptable.

The pharmaceutical industry is criticizing the report for implying that all seniors pay the same price for the same drug when they do not. And as you heard the senators mention a big subject for debate this summer on Capitol Hill: how to help seniors pay for increasingly expensive drugs with a prescription drugs with a prescription drug benefit -- Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: And, Jeanne, I've read that seniors have had to go to Mexico; they've gone to Canada to try and get these drugs. Will this be the only option for those who just can't pay?

MESERVE: Well, one of the other options was -- which was discussed at this press conference today is the fact that, in many instances, seniors have to make decisions: Do they buy their drugs? Do they buy food or other necessities of life?

And in some instances, they're giving up the necessities for their drugs; in other cases not taking the drug dosages they should because they want to live in an adequate manner. There still are some traveling to other countries to buy their drugs. But the hope is that a prescription drug benefit, if and when it is passed by the Congress, may make some of those choices more easy for seniors.

PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, live in Washington, thank you.

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