Paying for medicine or paying for food. That’s the choice Kelly Soller says she sees Medicare recipients make every day.
“We've had seniors, we've had people break down and cry," Soller, the Sullivan County coordinator for services for the aging, said. "They'll call us, 'I went to the pharmacy and they just told me that my co-payment is $600,' or something to that effect, which happens.”
Kelly works with Medicare recipients to help them find insurance plans they can afford. She said more than half of the 200 people she’s seen this year are in this exact situation.
What You Need To Know
- The federal government announced a plan to renegotiate Medicare drug prices
- Sullivan County Coordinator for Services for the Aging Kelly Soller says more than half of the Medicare recipients she sees during the year can't afford their medicine
- A study by the RAND Corporation found prescription drug prices are more than two and a half times more expensive in the U.S. than other countries
“If it's not something that fits into their budget, the food budget, their rent budget, you know, mortgage, gas, they just, what are they going to do?" she said. "They can't afford it.”
The federal government is trying to change that, with President Joe Biden announcing a plan this week to negotiate prices on 10 different Medicare drugs, including medicine used for diabetes, blood thinners and leukemia.
Kelly said that right now, it’s not unusual for Medicare recipients to pay hundreds of dollars for a copay for a single prescription.
“These diabetic medications, people need this to live," she said. "They need it to live. And when you're being told that the copayment is $400, what do you do if you don't have it? You can't. If you don't have it, you just don't have it. What are you going to do?”
According to a study by the research nonprofit the RAND corporation, prescription drug prices are more than two and a half times more expensive in the U.S. than other countries.
In a statement, Biden said prices for drugs would decrease for over 9 million seniors if it is implemented, and save taxpayers $160 billion.
But that’s still three years away and in the meantime, Kelly said folks should contact their local office for the aging for assistance.
“Call your doctor," she said. "Please see if they can give you another medication that does the same thing, that maybe we can look into and see if it costs a little bit less.”
The plan is already facing several lawsuits, including complaints filed by drugmakers Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb and a key lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA.