Rx Prices: How AARP is Fighting for You
Prescription drug costs cannot continue to rise at their current rate. Millions of Americans can no longer afford the vital drug therapies they need. Drugs have become so expensive that many people don't even fill their prescriptions. Others are forced to take drastic measures such as splitting pills or skipping doses. Still others have been driven to selling their possessions in a desperate attempt to pay for the medications they need.
The new Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage is providing relief for millions of Medicare beneficiaries, and it's only the beginning. AARP has embarked on a Prescription Drug Affordability Campaign—nationally, in the states and in the courts—to help bring the market for prescription drugs into balance for all.
At AARP, we're working hard to ensure that prescription drugs are both affordable and available. We're using every means at our disposal to make sure this happens. Here are some examples of what we're doing.
On the National level...
- Helped pass the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, a good first step that provides for Medicare coverage of Rx drugs (Part D) and more. Millions will benefit, especially those with lower incomes and high drug costs.
- Pressing to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
- Actively pushing for the passage of the Dorgan-Snowe bill to allow—often at significantly lower prices—safe and legal importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other approved countries.
- Decided that drug companies’ pricing practices need far more scrutiny. Through its new Rx Watchdog Report, AARP keeps track of, and reports to its members, what the drug industry is doing—and not doing—to make drugs affordable.
In the States...
- Helping states to merge their existing programs with the new Medicare Rx coverage to provide greater assistance to more people.
- Helped states pass laws extending their purchasing and bargaining power via bulk purchasing.
- Supports reform to drug companies’ questionable marketing practices to curb the undue influence they have on the drugs physicians prescribe for you.
And in the Courts...
- Joined cases on the side of states attempting to lower drug costs by creating preferred drug lists (PDLs). Michigan’s PDL has helped drive down the rate of inflation in drug costs from 17% to 2.5%.
- Joined antitrust cases filed against brand name drug manufacturers where they have paid generic drug companies to keep lower cost generic drugs off the market. These actions by drug companies keep drug prices artificially high, with the costs passed on to the consumer.
AARP Needs Your Help
We're fighting for affordable prescription drugs, but we can't do it without you! Please help by calling or writing your elected officials. Ask them to:
- Support Rx importation (Dorgan-Snowe)
- Let the federal government negotiate lower drug prices for those in Medicare.
Call 1-800-869-3150 or send an email through our Legislative Action Center.
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