Prescription Drug Campaign
All people should have access to the prescription drugs they need without
having to choose between their health and the other basic necessities of
life — food, housing and child care. The cost of prescription drugs
in health plans is going up at a dramatic rate — up
to about 20% last year. This is driving double- digit increases in health
insurance premiums. And those who need prescription drugs but have no health
insurance are increasingly forced to choose between the drugs that they
need to live and paying the rent or eating.
Fighting Medicare Deform
Medicare was based on the conviction that government can solve problems
that people cannot tackle on their own. Three out of four seniors did not
have hospital insurance when Congress established Medicare in 1965. Seniors
were sinking into poverty and this was considered a national disgrace.
Since 1965, millions of seniors and their families have benefited from
this program. And it has been cost effective – less than 5% of the
Medicare budget is spent on administrative costs, 95% pays for healthcare
delivered by private doctors and hospitals.
Fast forward 40 years to today when prescription drugs have become the
fastest growing part of both healthcare costs and healthcare usage. Medicare
pays to visit the doctor, but not for the prescription drugs that will
keep you healthy. Seniors find themselves forced to choose between food
and medicine. The drug companies are making record profits and the U.S.
pays more for prescriptions than any other country. What should be done?
Not what was done. Congressional leaders used every trick in the book
to pass the Medicare Modernization Act. Everyone who voted for it should
be ashamed. CEOs and shareholders are the beneficiaries, not seniors. The
Boston
Globe published a must-read
article on the politics behind this
bill.
Not only does this bill prohibit Medicare from bargaining for lower drug
prices for seniors, it has no cost controls at all. So the recently announced
17.4% Medicare premium increase is likely to be just the beginning. According
to the Boston Globe, drug companies will rake in an additional $139 billion
in new profits thanks to Congress’ generosity.
Oregon Action is committed to seeing this legislation repealed and replaced
with prescription drug coverage that serves the greater good. We want our
tax dollars to pay for medicine, not for CEO bonuses.
Rx Reform in Oregon
Locally, Oregon Action was a leader in winning a Drug Purchasing Pool
bill that will go into effect in January, 2005. People 55 or older who
are at or below 185% of the federal poverty line are eligible to enroll
in the purchasing pool and pay less for their prescriptions. The Purchasing
Pool allows the state of Oregon to bargain for lower drug prices. For more
information, see www.oregoniansforhealthsecurity.org.
Victory
Prescription drug reform is Oregon Action's priority statewide issue. We
worked hard for the passage of a prescription drug bulk-purchasing pool.
Despite strong opposition from the pharmaceutical lobby, SB
875 was passed. This bill creates a statewide purchasing pool for all
state, county, local and school government agencies and for seniors 55 and
over at 185% of poverty and below. This means the campaign is only half-over
since we believe the pool must be open to employers and other consumers.
Governor Ted Kulongoski with OA leaders Tom Morgan,
Rose Spears and Joe Mahoney at a recent press conference where Governor
Kulongoski announced his support for a regional bulk-purchasing pool. |
Oregon should join together with
Washington, Montana and Idaho in a regional prescription drug purchasing-pool
so state health programs, independent pharmacies and regional clinics,
hospitals and HMO's can bargain for the same bulk discounts that huge
chains such as Walmart and Rite-Aid enjoy. Not only will this bring the
cost of health care down for Oregonians; it will help local small businesses
such as independent pharmacies to compete on price as well as service. |
| OA recently released the report, The
Best Medicine at the Best Price, detailing how the state could save
as much as $30 million a year on prescription drugs by purchasing though
a pool. Individuals and businesses, if allowed to participate, could boost
the savings an additional $40 million. |
OA leaders Taneisha White, Tom Morgan and Evelyn Richardson
tell the press that Oregon can save $30 to $70 million per year on prescriptions
with a prescription drug bulk-purchasing pool.
No meaningful prescription drug reform can happen unless the people elected
to office believe in it. That's why Oregon Action endorsed a slate of Health
Care Reform Candidates.in the November elections. Two-thirds of our
endorsed candidates won their elections.
In
July, we hosted a Health Care Candidate Forum and invited all the candidates
for state and federal office who are running in the Portland Metro area
to attend and speak to their proposal to address three elements of health
care reform: containing costs, expanding access and enhancing quality.
Evelyn Richardson of the Portland Chapter chaired the Candidate Forum.
Here she is welcoming everyone and reviewing the three points that the candidates
should address.
At least 300 people attended the Health Care Candidate Forum, demonstrating
to candidates that voters want to know where they stand on health care reform.
For more info and photos from the forum, click here.
In
June, Oregon Action released The Impact of Prescription
Drug Prices on Seniors, a report detailing the disproportionate effect
of the prescription drug crisis on seniors. For example, although in 1998
seniors made up only 13 percent of the population, they accounted for 42
cents of every dollar spent on prescription drugs, and 34 percent of all
prescriptions dispensed.
In this photo, Portland President Rose Spears, Rx Reform Committee leader
Idella Mims and intern Franky give a thumbs up to toast the successful press
conference.
Earlier this summer, OA members Karen Jenkins and Joe Mahoney traveled
to Mexico
wtih the Oregonians for Health Security in a prescription drug purchasing
trip, taking advantage of the immense difference in drug prices between
the United States and Mexico.
Many Americans travel to both Mexico and Canada where drugs are much less
expensive than here. Here is just one example of the savings from the Mexico
trip: Oxsoralen Ultra, the cost for 100 pills in the United States = $700.00,
but in Mexico it costs $60.
Oregon Action will again work to pass a prescription drug bulk-purchasing
pool in the 2003 legislature. Our Northwest Federation partners are also
working in Idaho, Washington and Montana so that our statewide bargaining
power is combined into a regional purchasing bloc. We will also continue
working with our national partner, US Action to win prescription drug benefits
for Medicare.
National Campaign
As a member of US Action,
Oregon Action is working for a unified national program to promote quality,
affordable health care for all Americans. Currently, the Administration
and Congress are looking at ways to address the high cost of prescription
drugs. Oregon Action urges Congress to go beyond band-aid solutions such
as discount cards and really address the high cost of prescriptions by passing
H.R. 1400, the Prescription Drug Fairness to Seniors Act, usually called
the Allen Bill.
We oppose the bait and switch reform bills passed by the House and Senate.
They lack an cost control mechanism, a reflection of the undue influence
of the drug lobby. Under these bills, many people in Oregon will actually
pay more than if Congress did nothing. Now that is the real Medicare
Bait and Switch. Please read our report, with USAction, laying out the
problems with the bill and detailing the hundreds of thousands who will
be worse off than if Congress did nothing.
Paying for Prescription Drug Reform
The Bush tax cut passed in 2001 has many provisions affecting wealthy Americans
that have not yet been implemented. The additional tax cuts proposed this
year go even farther. The unimplemented tax cuts will cost as much as creating
a prescription drug reform benefit - a reform promised by both candidates
in the 2000 election. These cuts, together with additional defense spending,
are being used by President Bush as an excuse to renege on his campaign
promise to pass a prescription drug benefit for all seniors. The choice
is clear, tax cuts for the wealthy or prescription drugs for seniors.
In the News:
In My Opinion by Joe Mahoney
-- regarding discount drug plans
Oregon
Considered, March 28, 2001
Oregon Action member Joe Mahoney speaks in support of the prescription
drug bulk-purchasing pool. You can listen to the story by clicking
here. Oregon Action will continue to push for the bulk-purchasing pool
in the next legislative session.
Research
US Action, through its members like
Oregon Action, has released reports on the prescription drug crisis.
The Northwest Federation of Community Organizations and Oregon Action have
released the following report together.
