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Managing Prescription Drug Costs
Rx Drug Discount Cards Add Up to Confusion for Seniors
 Listen to Joseph Shapiro's story.
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Novartis' new CareCard promises a 30 to 40 percent discount off retail prices on some of its medications.
Photo: Novartis |
April 5, 2002 -- In the United States, it's the elderly who most use prescription drugs. More than a third of them, on any given day, have no insurance to pay for those medications. So many seniors turn to discount drug programs. There are scores of these drug cards, and now, some drugmakers are offering big savings on their own medications. But using the discount cards can be confusing and the benefits are limited. NPR's Joseph Shapiro reports for Morning Edition.
Like many older people, Ruth Church needs medications to stay healthy.
She takes nine different medications, adding up to about $300 a month.
It's money the 69-year-old woman doesn't have.
Ruth joined an HMO because it picked up about half the cost of her
drugs. But recently that changed. She received a notice that as of Jan. 1,
the HMO would no longer provide drug coverage.
"I called the HMO and talked to them
and said, 'I can't believe, I can't
believe you're doing this,' " she tells
Shapiro. "They said their hands were
tied. They just couldn't afford to any
more. It just costs too much."
As Church was trying to figure out
what to do next, she read a newspaper
article that gave her hope. It said the
drugmaker Pfizer was offering a
discount card program. Under Pfizer's
plan, seniors with no coverage and
with little income may be eligible to
buy any Pfizer drug at a rate of $15
per prescription per month.
Pfizer is one of four drug companies that have started discount cards in
recent months. The cards can be helpful, if an elderly person meets the
income requirement, if the drug company makes the needed medication,
and if the senior even finds out about the card. Ruth Church works hard
to stay informed on these things. But she didn't know about drugmaker
GlaxoSmithKline's program, which discounts still another of her
medications.
"I think the last thing that America's seniors needs is a billfold full of
cards, one card per company," says Ron Pollack, who runs Families USA,
a health-care advocacy group. He says the cards offered by drugmakers
cover too few seniors and offer too little in savings, and he questions the drug companies' motives.
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Other Discount Options
A recent congressional report found that prices offered by some discount cards were little better than those found on some Internet services. Other options for discounts:
Medicare's Prescription Drug Assistance Program offers help online for locating public and private programs that offer discounted or free medication.
A congressional report found Drugstore.com offered better savings than some discount cards.
Northern Drugstore.com is a Canadian-based Internet pharmacy that offers significant discounts through the American Benefits Association, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy offers a list of Internet pharmacies that meet its safety and consumer rights critieria on its
Web site, nabp.org/vipps.
NPR does not endorse any of the above companies.
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What's really needed, says Pollack, is for Medicare to pay for the drug
costs of all seniors. Politicians made that a priority in the last election.
But that was before the federal deficit began rising again.
When the idea for Medicare drug coverage stalled, some pharmaceutical
companies stepped in to offer discounts on their own drugs. Qualifying
seniors can add those cards to those offered by some states, and the
scores of cards from smaller, private discount programs. President Bush
has proposed a discount card, too.
Most common are the cards offered by drug store chains or by private
groups, like the AARP or a national square dancing club. A recent
congressional report found such cards offer small savings, usually less
than 10 percent, or sometimes no savings at all. And often there's a
monthly fee.
A recent study commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation found a
senior usually needs more than one card to get the best discount. But
using the cards is confusing, says Patricia Neuman, who works for the
foundation.
"For a consumer who is trying to get the best deal on their prescription
drugs, using these discount cards can really be like operating in the Wild
Wild West," she says. "You have to ask the right questions and be lucky
enough to have the right card."
In Depth
 Browse for other NPR stories about prescription drugs.
Resources
• Visit Medicare's Prescription Drug Assistance Program online for help locating public and private programs that offer discounted or free medication.
• Read a Kaiser Family Foundation report surveying and assessing various prescription drug-discount programs. (PDF requires Adobe Acrobat Reader download.)
• Read President Bush's revised proposal for a Medicare-endorsed prescription drug-discount card and his original July 2001 proposal.
• Read health-care advocates Families USA's critique of the president's proposal. (PDF requires Adobe Acrobat Reader download.)
• A recent GAO study found that drug-discount programs offered little savings over prices offered through Internet pharmacies and mail-order services. Read the study posted at the House Special Investigations Division, Prescription Drugs Web site. (PDF requires Adobe Acrobat Reader download.)
• Read about the National Association of Chain Drug Stores PharmacyCare One Card, which seeks to offer drug-maker discounts for Medicare recipients through one card.
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