An Update on Health:  A Solution to the Rising Cost of Prescription Medication

Due to the rising price of prescription drugs, several states are implementing pharmaceutical discount programs to lower expenses for senior citizens. According to Legisbrief, the Office of Pharmacy Affairs, the Federal 340B drug pricing program "provides discounts on outpatient drugs to participating safety-net health providers." A study conducted in 2001 also found that this program reduces medication costs to 49% of the market value in comparison to 60.5% for Medicaid.¹ Therefore, the discounts offered by the Federal 340B program greatly help to alleviate the burden created by the enormous drug prices. This program has also helped a greater amount of people to have better access to healthcare. In fact, these programs are active in over 9,150 clinics across the United States.² This program helps Americans who do not have insurance and those with insurance who do not have prescription medication coverage.

The 340B Federal Drug Pricing Program especially serves American citizens because in the U.S. customers spend more for prescription medication than in any other country even though most of the products are manufactured in America. This factor is a major problem because some senior citizens cannot afford the drug costs and are left untreated. States have tried to tackle this problem by introducing new laws. For example, Arkansas passed a law, HB 2498, to enable more government health clinics to sell drugs with reduced prices.³ This program will hopefully enable a greater number of people to be treated when they are ill.

Recently President Bush proposed methods to make generic drugs more accessible to Americans. Bush’s plan would prevent the pharmaceutical companies from extending patent laws for brand named drugs, leading to a savings of over $3 billion this year.⁴ The pharmaceutical companies allegedly resubmit thirty day stays to avoid the generic drugs entrance into the market. Bush’s proposal would only allow the companies to file one 30-day stay period before the generic drugs are sold along with the brand-named companies. Some representatives such as, House Leader Dick Gephardt, questioned the president’s motives as the November elections approach. In any case, Bush’s proposal will allow a greater number of Americans to have access to vital and less expensive

medication. ⁰

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