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Yes on Measure 44--Help Write the Prescription for a Healthy Oregon

By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-09-15 12:40:13.607489-04:00

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The skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs is putting affordable health care out of reach for many Oregonians.

More than one million residents—nearly a third of the state's population—are now without Rx coverage, according to current estimates. That's far too many of our families and friends who lack the health insurance necessary to afford today's medicines. People shouldn't have to choose between paying for things like food and utilities or paying for their medications.

Help us address this growing problem by voting "YES" on November's election ballot and encouraging your family, friends and neighbors to do the same. Taking preventative steps in ensuring Oregonians have access to affordable medications, fosters and maintains health, and helps keep overall health care costs down for all of us.

Measure 44 will:

• Open up an effective, innovative program—the Oregon Prescription Drug Program—to uninsured Oregonians and expand the negotiating pool by shattering current restrictive barriers (age, income and waiting periods) to participation.
• Improve Oregon's ability to negotiate discounts from drug manufacturers and pharmacies using the state's nationally recognized evidence-based research.
• Reduce prescription drug costs by as much as 60 percent for participants. In only a year of the program's initial implementation, more than $560,000 has been saved, an average of $26 per prescription!
• Create a valuable safety net when combined with Medicare Part D, especially for seniors who fall in the "donut hole."
• Expand this innovative, yet relatively simple, discount drug program at no additional cost to taxpayers. By harnessing the current structure and the power of the marketplace, the program helps pay for itself through the savings realized from discounts and rebates.

Join our efforts now and make sure to check "YES" on your November election ballot. With your help, we can address a dire prescription drug need of uninsured Oregonians and reduce health care costs for everyone. Contact us at toll-free at 866-554-5360 or via e-mail at oraarp@aarp.org with questions or to get involved today.

Related Articles

• Initiative to Reduce Prescription Costs Qualifies for Ballot
  "Yes" vote will reduce prescription costs by up to 60% for 780,000 Oregonians without prescription drug coverage

Other Resources

• Prescription for a Healthy Oregon 
• AARP Rx Watchdog Study, June 2006
  AARP tracks the prices of the most commonly used brand name and generic prescription drugs for consumers ages 50 and above and reports its findings each quarter. Read how prescription drug prices hit record heights with first quarter '06 increases in brand name drugs the highest in six years.
• Oregon State Public Interest Research Group Report, July 2006: "Paying the Price:The High Cost of Prescription Drugs for Uninsured Oregonians."
• Oregon and Washington announce joint bulk purchasing program, the Northwest Prescription Drug Consortium, July 2006.