Paying the Price: The High Cost of Prescription Drugs for Uninsured Americans

Millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans struggle to afford the medicines they need, even forgoing medically necessary drugs when prices are out of reach. When discussing the high cost of
prescription drugs, politicians often focus on the financial burden carried by senior citizens. Unfortunately, as this report shows, high prescription drug prices are a problem for Americans of all ages, particularly for the uninsured.

Today, nearly 46 million Americans under the age of 65 lack health insurance, and millions more with insurance lack prescription drug coverage. Young adults from 19 to 34 years old are the fastest
growing group of uninsured, accounting for 40 percent of the total.

At the same time, prescription drug prices are skyrocketing in the United States, rising much faster than the rate of inflation. In 2005, Americans spent $252 billion on prescription drugs.

The federal government uses its buying power to negotiate lower prices for the drugs it purchases for its beneficiaries, such as veterans, government employees and retirees. Uninsured consumers, with no one to negotiate on their behalf, pay full price for their medications—if they are able to afford them at all.

During the spring of 2006, researchers from the state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) posed as uninsured customers and surveyed by phone hundreds of pharmacies in 35 cities across the country, as well as 25 pharmacies across Vermont, to determine how much uninsured consumers are paying for 10 prescription drugs commonly used by adults under age 65. We then compared these prices with the prices the pharmaceutical companies charge the federal government; with prices at a
Canadian pharmacy; and with the results of a similar survey we completed in 2004.