THURSDAY, April 11, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- As lawmakers struggle to put together a prescription plan for Medicare recipients, they might want to take into account new research that shows affordable medicines could actually lengthen the lives of America's seniors.
A study from Rutgers University, which appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, points out that current discrepancies in drug prices could determine how long some seniors live.
Right now, depending on where you buy your medicine, you pay anywhere from retail price to 40 percent or 50 percent below the average wholesale price (AWP), the researchers say.
For example, Veterans' Administration hospitals, which have plenty of buying clout because they purchase in bulk, get the lowest prices. However, many seniors pay retail prices because they have no drug coverage.
More than money is at stake here, the researchers add.
When prices were 40 percent below AWP, $1 million bought enough statins -- which reduce cholesterol levels -- to extend by 90 years collectively the lives of the entire population of heart patients between the ages of 75 and 84.
When statins were priced at 20 percent below AWP, that translated into only 63 years of extended life, and when they were priced at AWP, that meant only 48 years.
For medicines used for diabetes and heart attack, at prices 20 percent below AWP, $1 million would buy 26 more years for men and 19 more years for women over the age of 65.
However, the proposed Medicare prescription plans would not necessarily level the buying field, because prices would depend mainly on geography and possibly other factors as well. This, in turn, could influence health outcomes.
"We wanted to point out exactly [that] how they set this plan up is going to make a difference as to how prices are set," says study co-author Louise Russell, a research professor of economics at Rutger's Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research. "When prices are different, that means that some plans and some elderly are going to get more for their money."
"This is actually a new angle on the whole issue of drugs, and it does, in my mind, very strongly support the need for a drug benefit in Medicare," says John Rother, policy director for the AARP.
"It's common sense. These are very expensive drugs many [seniors] can't afford, and when they don't take them, their health suffers. And as drug prices are rising more and more, people have problems with affordability, and definitely there's a health impact," he adds.
"It's a pretty obvious point that what price you pay makes a difference with what you can do with a different budget," Russell says. "A lot of elderly don't have insurance for drugs, and if they have multiple conditions and these drugs are expensive, it comes down to, 'Can I afford to do what the doctor told me to do.' "
And that, she adds, is "why this is such a big political issue."
The researchers reviewed the results of studies that examined the costs and the health effects of using medications in the elderly.
They calculated that reducing the cost of statins by 40 percent would almost double the extension of life statins are capable of producing in elderly patients with a history of myocardial infarction.
The results can't be extended to all drugs, however. "This doesn't apply to every single class of drugs, but statins are one of drugs that actually do prolong life without question," Rother says.
Russell is unsure what impact her study will have on the people who make policy, though she reveals one hopeful sign: the New Jersey Governor's office called for a copy of the study.
"At least people are aware of it," she says.
What To Do
Visit AARP for more information on the Medicare prescription drug campaign.
Find out about Medicare's prescription drug assistance programs.
