May AARP Bulletin: The Fight to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

En español | WASHINGTON—Yes, medicine can be made more affordable. Despite drug manufacturers’ best efforts, the tides are beginning to turn on rising drug prices. The May issue of AARP Bulletin features an in-depth report that includes a five-point plan that policymakers can use to help drive down medicine costs for all Americans.

The plan details how to use Medicare’s negotiating power, careful importation, new approaches to generic drugs and other measures to lower prescription drug prices. In addition, the report puts a spotlight on how drugmakers use coupons and other marketing tools to keep list prices high, and details the surprising barriers that block access to lower-cost generic medicines.  

Learn how this battle can be won, and how AARP – alongside hospitals, patients, regulators and politicians – is fighting high drug prices.

Other stories in the May issue:

Your Health

• Unhappy Feet: Foot pain is not a normal part of aging, podiatrists say, and yet about 24 percent of people over age 45 suffer from it. Weight gain, sedentary lifestyles or poor blood flow are often the culprits for foot pain. If you are among the 1 in 4 Americans age 45+ with foot pain, discover the causes, as well as potential remedies you can start on today.

Your Money

• 3 Steps to Digging Out of Debt: Debt might make sense for young adults looking forward to long careers and rising incomes, but older Americans have less time and earnings power to pay off loans. Yet older Americans not only are taking on more debt than ever, but also increasingly have several forms of debt at the same time. To get yourself out of the hole, you’ll need this detailed plan.
   
• 7 Behaviors That Can Make You Vulnerable to Fraud: Do you respect authority? Are you a people-pleaser? Enjoy chatting with people? AARP Fraud Watch Network’s Amy Nofziger and Mark Fetterhoff show that the characteristics that make you a good person also can make you highly vulnerable to fraud.
   
• Haggling for Shy People: Love bargains but hate to bargain? Trying haggling online rather than in-person. Online shoppers who haggle stand to save even more than walk-in hagglers. Check out our tips and techniques on how to negotiate the best deals online.
   
• Chipping in for College: There are many types of investments and strategies to help pay for a grandchild’s education. Some even come with special tax breaks. But sometimes, the best approach is just good old-fashioned cash, says personal finance expert Jane Bryant Quinn. Learn how you and your family can get the most out of your college fund contribution.