Health Care News

COLUMBUS—Uninsured consumers in Columbus pay 55 percent more for common prescription drugs than what the drug companies charge the federal government, according to a new Ohio Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) report released today.

“Not only is the multinational drug industry amplifying the health care gap between the insured and uninsured, it is fueling a full-fledged health care crisis. Employers are drowning in health care costs, premiums and cost sharing are soaring, and health insurance is eroding,” said Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). “Yet the drug industry continues to charge dramatically higher prices in this country than anywhere else in the world. If, or should I say when, Americans demand price controls, the drug industry will have only itself to blame.”

“When 46 million uninsured Americans go it alone at the pharmacy, they pay the price,” said Ohio PIRG Consumer Advocate Craig Menchin. “With no one to negotiate lower prices on their behalf, uninsured consumers often face sticker shock when trying to afford medically necessary prescriptions.”

In the spring of 2006, Ohio PIRG teamed up with state PIRGs across the country to survey more than 600 pharmacies in 35 cities to determine how much uninsured consumers pay for 10 drugs when compared with prices paid by the federal government, which uses its buying power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. While many studies have focused on the impact of high drug prices on senior citizens, Ohio PIRG’s survey examined the prices uninsured consumers pay for a range of prescription drugs widely used by Americans under 65, such as antibiotics, allergy medication, anti-depressants, and cholesterol-lowering medication.

Among the survey’s key findings:

• The uninsured in Columbus pay nearly twice as much for their medication at local drug stores as they would pay at a Canadian pharmacy. The hormone replacement drug Premarin costs 539% more at Columbus drug stores than it does at a Canadian pharmacy.

• Nationally, based on the 35 cities surveyed, uninsured Americans pay 60 percent more on average than what the federal government pays for same drugs and twice as much as they would pay at a Canadian pharmacy. Furthermore, from 2004-2006, these prices have risen 81% faster than inflation.

Ohio PIRG called for increasing the availability of low cost generic drugs by closing loopholes that allow drug makers to hold on to their patents and tightening oversight of drug makers’ marketing tactics, which drive up demand for the newest and more expensive drugs regardless of effectiveness. Ohio PIRG also supports creating prescription drug buying pools at the state level to allow individuals (including the uninsured), businesses and the government to use their combined buying power to negotiate lower drug prices with manufacturers.