Health Care & Prescription Drugs News

TALLAHASSEE—Uninsured consumers in Tallahassee and Miami pay at least 57 percent more for common prescription drugs than what the drug companies charge the federal government, according to “Paying the Price”, a new report released today by the Florida Public Interest Research Group (Florida PIRG).

“Florida residents who don’t have insurance are paying a steep price when they go to the pharmacy,” said Florida PIRG Consumer Advocate Brad Ashwell “With no one to negotiate lower prices on their behalf, uninsured consumers often face sticker shock when they go to fill medically necessary prescriptions,” continued Ashwell.

In the spring of 2006, Florida PIRG teamed up with state PIRGs across the country to survey more than 600 pharmacies in 35 cities to compare how much uninsured consumers pay for 10 common drugs with the 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, Florida 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:

• In Tallahassee, uninsured consumers pay 57% more than what the federal government pays for the same drugs. In Miami, they pay 58% more.

• The uninsured in Tallahassee & Miami pay almost twice as much for their medication at local drug stores as they would pay at a Canadian pharmacy. The hormone replacement drug Premarin costs 535 % more at the Tallahassee drug stores surveyed than it would at a Canadian pharmacy, and 511% more at pharmacies in Miami.

• In 2004, Florida PIRG released a similar study of prescription drug prices. Looking at the nine drugs we surveyed both in 2004 and 2006, the average price paid by uninsured consumers in Tallahassee increased 15% faster than the general rate of inflation over the two-year period.

• Nationally, based on the 35 cities we surveyed, uninsured Americans pay 60% more, on average, than the federal government pays for the same drugs and twice as much as they would pay at a Canadian pharmacy.

“I work hard day in and day out, but it is nearly impossible to find affordable insurance because I am self-employed. Recently, when I was diagnosed with asthma, I found that without insurance, I couldn’t afford the medications I needed,” said Ken Ross, a master carpenter and Tallahassee resident.

Florida 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 newer and more expensive drugs regardless of their effectiveness. Florida 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.

“We urge the Florida legislature to follow the lead of the fourteen states around the country that have already passed innovative policies to help uninsured consumers afford their prescription medication,” said Ashwell.

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Florida PIRG is a statewide non-profit, non-partisan environmental and consumer advocacy organization. To view the full report, visit www.floridapirg.org.