Drug Costs Keep Elders Addicted to Poverty
Dr. David J. Demko, gerontologist and editor
AgeVenture News Service www.demko.com 02-02-05
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What, exactly, is the cause of an elder's death? Could be a lot of things, ranging from disease to accident. But for growing numbers of elders, the cause of death is "an empty wallet." The medications prescribed for their illnesses are not within their financial reach. One-in-five Older Americans now spend 50% of their income on medications.
The U.S. Congress might offer a solution someday, although their incentive for creating real change in health care is doubtful. Afterall, our representatives and senators don't participate in Medicare. They've got their own federal health plan. A plan that Congress appears to think is "too good" for the citizens they represent. So, at least for the immediate future, where can cash-strapped elders find affordable prescription medications? They must continue to look outside the United States.
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A recent survey of 350 elder Americans conducted by Universaldrugstore.com, discovered substantial human suffering attributed to the high cost of prescription drugs. Elderly Americans are being forced to make the daily choice of "food on the table" or life-sustaining "prescriptions in the medicine cabinet."
Seven percent of those surveyed said they regularly miss a meal to pay for their medication. If you look at the entire population of the US and do the math, it means that 2,723,534 older Americans or about the population of the state of Kansas could be missing meals. One percent of those surveyed go entire days without meals so they can pay their pharmaceutical bills.
The sacrifices that elders are making infringes upon all aspects of their lives.
- 6% miss mortgage payments,
- 7% cannot pay utility bills,
- 7% have stopped giving their spouses anniversary gifts,
- 11% do not buy new shoes,
- 11% cannot afford to see their doctor,
- 15% forgo buying clothes, and
- 15% skip doses of their medication.
"Although this has become a big issue, when you speak about the problem in political terms it is easy to lose perspective of the scope of what's happening," explains Jeff Uhl, co-founder and pharmacist at Universaldrugstore.com. "What is frustrating is that so many people are suffering when it is a problem that can be solved, or at least greatly reduced, with relative ease." Three-in-five elders say they do not plan to use the new Bush government drug discount card.
Universal is one of six pharmacies that originally pioneered the Canadian Internet pharmacy movement. Universal Drugstore Ltd. is a fully licensed Canadian Pharmacy, with Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association license number 32-229.
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