www managedcaremag.com

NOW AVAILABLE
The next generation in online publishing...

Requires
Flash Player 9
Version Test
Download Flash

Sign up to read the digital versions of Managed Care, P&T, and Biotechnology Healthcare. These digital editions are free, searchable, and can be downloaded and read offline. To read a sample of the digital version of Managed Care, follow this link:

Sample digital edition

Register for a free digital subscription

Archive issues of Managed Care:

• January 2008
• February 2008
• March 2008
• April 2008
• May 2008

Supplement to Managed Care: Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Model for Treating Severe Pain Free download

MANAGED CARE April 2008. ©MediMedia USA

The Formulary Files

Cost of Rx drugs is unreasonable, consumers say

Forty-one percent of adults report difficulty paying for the prescription drugs they need, and more than a third of them say it is a serious problem, according to a survey conducted by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University School of Public Health. Nearly 80 percent of those polled said that the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable.

MollyAnn Brody, vice president for public opinion and media at Kaiser Family Foundation, says, “It’s a shame because our survey also showed that people believe their prescriptions do work and were prescribed to improve their health. But the reality is that a significant number of people are having a hard time paying.”

For patients who need to take more than four prescription drugs, those who don’t have insurance to pay for prescription drugs, and those with low incomes, paying for prescription drugs is problematic. Not filling a prescription because of cost and skipping doses are more common in this group.

Difficulty paying for prescription drugs

Source: USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health. The public on prescription drugs and pharmaceutical companies. March 2008