Prescription Drugs Can Drain a Senior's Bank Account

The shift from my regular, employer-provided heath insurance coverage to Medicare has been an eye-opening process, particularly when it comes to the real costs of prescription drugs. I have been dealing with annual increases of insurance deductibles for quite a few years, but for some reason, it never grabbed my attention the way it has this year. Of course, this is the first time I have been on a fixed income, so I am paying closer attention to just about everything.

In past years all my doctor's visits, medical tests and prescriptions were expenses that were applied to the reduction of my deductible, so the hit to my bank account was gradual and spread over about three months time. This year, my first on Medicare, my deductible can only be met by prescriptions, because that is the only expense my secondary insurance can apply to satisfy the deductible. So when I went to my doctor to conduct my annual medication review, I decided to order all my prescriptions from the mail order pharmacy, which means I would get a three-month supply.

I take quite a bit of medication because I have high blood pressure, osteopenia (pre-stage of osteoporosis,) asthma, osteoarthritis and chronic acid reflux. (Imagine my surprise when my doctor told me during this visit that I am healthy for my age!) But I was not prepared for the courtesy call I received from Caremark Prescription Services to warn me that they would be charging some $1300 to my credit card. $1300 for three months! If I did not have the drug coverage that would kick in as soon as the deductible was met, I would be paying more than $5200 a year on medicine.

If I am allegedly healthy, how are American seniors who have no prescription drug coverage but who are battling diabetes, heart disease, other lung diseases besides asthma, cancer, etc. supposed to pay for their medications? We have all heard stories about seniors who are cutting their pills into halves or even quarters, thinking they can stretch their prescription dollars a little further. Some others decide, against their doctor's orders, to simply discontinue the prescriptions that are the most costly, thus putting their lives in jeopardy.

The way I see it, this is not a political issue. Everybody, regardless of their political affiliations, will have family members who are fortunate enough to reach older age. Most of them will not be wealthy enough avoid the need to live on diminished income. I certainly do not advocate a government takeover of health care issues, but there must be some way to incentivize the pharmaceutical industry to reduce prices, at least to seniors.