This article is not intended to give either
a negative or positive opinion about the new health care laws in the United
States nor is it meant to begin a debate as to whether the laws will help or
hurt Americans.
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Many people in the United States are
struggling to pay for health care and prescription drugs according to a study
released earlier this year.
The
number of doctor visits and medications prescribed declined slightly in 2010,
and in 2011, there was a 7% increase in emergency room visits, which is
attributed to loss of health insurance and long-term unemployment.
Senior Citizens, in particular, used fewer
medicines. Patients 65 and older appear
to be rationing their drugs, filling fewer physician-prescribed medications as
they struggle to pay their bills. For
older Americans, the biggest decline in prescriptions was for those used to treat
high blood pressure, high cholesterol and osteoporosis. These are drugs where the patient won’t
necessarily develop symptoms when they stop taking them. So, some patients see these drugs as
expendable.
The prices for brand-name drugs increased in
recent years, so people with medical conditions that require them to take drugs
with no generic equivalent have higher prescription costs. For those who take only generic drugs, the
cost may have gone down for some since more generic drugs have become
available.
"The percentage of
the population taking at least one prescription drug during the previous month
increased from 38 percent in 1988-1994 to 47 percent in 2003-2006, and the
percentage taking three or more prescription drugs increased from 11 percent to
21 percent." CDC/National Center
for Health Statistics, February 17, 2010.
"In 2005, nearly
one in 10 people between the ages of 18 and 64 said they were unable to get
necessary prescription drugs during the past 12 months due to cost." CDC/National Center for Health Statistics,
June 11, 2005
Since
I will be on Medicare myself soon, I am hoping that my healthcare and
prescription costs do not increase over the costs I currently pay with private
health insurance.
Even
with health insurance, over the past year or so, I have found that the
co-payment for prescriptions using my insurance was actually higher than when I
use a discount healthcare card.
I
am fortunate to have Xpress Healthcare’s prescription discounts. I have saved hundreds of dollars this year alone
using my Xpress prescription card instead of my health insurance, which was
very surprising to me when I first realized it.
I had always assumed insurance would be the better option. I have learned that is not necessarily true.
Using
Xpress Healthcare’s neighborhood pharmacy program, I save 10% to 85% on most
prescriptions. All the major national
chains participate in the program, as do many independent pharmacies. All I do is present my membership card to the
pharmacist with the prescription. The pharmacist calculates the discount, and I
pay the discounted price. No forms are required.
My
Xpress membership also includes a mail order program where I can optimize my savings
by purchasing maintenance prescriptions in 90 day supplies to treat ongoing
ailments.
The
statistics above demonstrate the dire need for relief to those who cannot
afford their prescriptions. We are
fortunate to live in a time when medications are available to extend and
improve the quality of our lives – but only if we can afford to buy them.
(Xpress
Healthcare’s Pharmacy Discounts are NOT insurance and are not intended as a substitute
for insurance. The membership card can
only be used at one of Xpress’ 60,000 providers nationwide.)
