Just like 40 percent of the nation, 72-year-old Myra Jones will
be without health insurance when her husband retires from his teaching job at
the end of this year. As older Americans, Jones and her husband need numerous
prescription drugs that are costly for those without sufficient coverage. While
Medicare is an option, she'll be looking into alternative programs to save
money.
One such effort is the Citizens Health Initiative, unveiled last month by
former Massachusetts congressman Joseph Kennedy, which is meant to relieve the
rising cost of prescription drugs for people like Jones and her husband. The
program, part of Kennedy's non-profit Citizens Energy Corporation, is geared
toward older Americans on fixed incomes and those working at jobs without
benefits or enough income to afford health insurance. Even government programs
like Medicaid and Medicare don't typically cover the cost of prescription
drugs.
Citizens Health has succeeded in reducing the cost of prescription medication
by an average of 42 percent through group purchasing power and alliances with
pharmaceutical companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline. Brian
O'Connor of Citizens Energy cites prescription drugs as "miracles of modern
science," since they can reduce the need for hospital visits through better
medication.
But many also feel that the effectiveness of prescription drugs doesn't
justify their prohibitive prices. Marti Rosenberg, executive director of Ocean
State Action, says pharmaceutical companies are gauging American citizens by
charging so much for drugs while taking 18 percent of their income as profit, a
contrast to the lower profit margins of some industries.
Citizens Health is certainly a step in the right direction, but Rosenberg
asserts that it's only a temporary solution. In the long run, she sees
government regulation of drug manufacturers as a critical step for reducing
costs and making products more available to the people who need them most.
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis[a]phx.com.
Issue Date: November 2 - 8, 2001
