By Brenda Price, AARP Michigan Associate State Director
Retail prices for some of the most widely used brand name prescription drugs continued to increase by an amount double the rate of inflation during the pandemic, making these life-sustaining medicines potentially unaffordable to many older Americans, according to a new report from AARP’s Public Policy Institute.
In 2020, prices for 260 commonly used medications whose prices AARP has been tracking since 2006 increased 2.9 percent while the general rate of inflation was 1.3 percent, according to a recent AARP “Rx Price Watch” report.
“It’s unfair that drug prices keep rising, even for medications that have been on the market for decades,” says Leigh Purvis, director of health care costs and access at AARP and coauthor of the reports. According to the report released this month, the total retail prescription drug costs for the typical older American who takes four to five prescription drugs per month would be $31,000 per year — more than the $29,650 average annual income for Medicare beneficiaries.
There’s no reason why Americans should continue to pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world. And it’s just as wrong that many seniors are forced to choose between filling their prescriptions and paying rent or buying groceries.
To help b ring down the cost of medications, AARP supports allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs for its beneficiaries. Brand-name drug prices are three times what they are in similar countries, yet Medicare is still barred from using its bargaining power to negotiate drug prices. Research shows Medicare beneficiaries could save $117 billion over 10 years if that bargaining ban is lifted.
Prices for widely used drugs have increased faster than inflation every year for the past decade. AARP supports inflation-based rebates for drugs covered by Medicare. Also, Medicare Part D enrollees can pay out-of-pocket costs that exceed $10,000 per year. There should be a hard cap on these costs.
In the Michigan Legislature, bills that would bring transparency to drug pricing, enable wholesale importation of drugs from other countries like Canada and strengthen consumer protection laws against price gouging have been introduced. AARP Michigan strongly supports these bills.
What can you do? Contact your members of Congress and the state House and Senate and say you want prescription drug prices reduced now. State-of-the-art prescription medications won’t work if people cannot afford to buy them.