104 year old woman ripped off by prescription drug industry

Soaring drug prescription costs are a concern to millions like Johnson’s mother who depend on proper medication to maintain their well-being.

It just isn’t right that someone of my mother’s age has to pay such high prices for something so important, Johnson said. The rising costs of drugs are leaving millions of people to choose between things they shouldn’t have to, said Peter Warren of California Medical Association.

People who need medicine, especially older people, are having to choose between [buying] food and [buying] their drugs; some will have to take just half their dose, Warren said. Drugs are just so expensive. Clashing Propositions 78 and 79 both strive to create discount prescription drug programs for uninsured, low-income California residents, but with different approaches.

The drug industry is sponsoring Proposition 78, also known as Cal Rx, which is also backed by the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association.A drug discount program under Proposition 78 would be available to those who earn 300 percent below the federal poverty level. An estimated five million Californians would be eligible to participate in the Cal Rx program.

If passed, Proposition 78 would create a program with voluntary discounts from drug companies.Drug and pharmaceutical companies are likely to be eager volunteers, said Denise Davis, spokesperson for California for Affordable Prescriptions.

It’s good for their business, and they will attain a larger purchasing pool because they will sell more prescription drugs, she said. The people impacted by this program will receive 40 percent discounts on their drugs.The reasons why drug companies favor Proposition 78 are clear, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access America, an association made of consumer groups supporting Proposition 79.

Under Proposition 78, the drug companies get to decide everything, he said. They determine the level of discounts and what does or does not get included. Wright and other opponents of Proposition 78 say reliance on the voluntary cooperation of drug companies paves the way for an easy termination.

The program could stop at any time if there aren’t enough residents signed up, enough companies don’t offer discounts or if there is no third party to administer the program, Wright said. In contrast, Proposition 79, or Cal Rx Plus, would establish a program open to residents earning 400 percent below the federal poverty level. Supporters for the proposition include numerous consumer-advocacy groups, labor unions and nonprofit groups. Cal Rx Plus would be able to extend its program to an estimated 10 million Californians.

Mark Beach, associate state director for the American Association of Retired Persons, said they chose to endorse Proposition 79 because the program is consistent with our policy and would provide deeper discounts. Unlike Proposition 78, Proposition 79 enlists the mandatory participation of drug companies. If a drug company does not provide satisfactory discounts, the company would be subject to the Medicaid hammer drug company products being pulled out of the Medi-Cal program.

Opponents of Proposition 79 said the program would only harm the residents who would then be denied access to certain drugs suspended as a result of the program’s enforcement. Davis said that Proposition 79 would also take a great toll on California’s biotechnology industry.

Proposition 79 will be bombarded will frivolous lawsuits, she said. And because of that, companies will be hesitant to do business or invest in research. Nearly $80 million has been raised for Proposition 78 by PhRMA.

[Proposition 78] has the most expensive campaign in the nation and lacks any enforcement whatsoever, Wright said. It is basically a sham to confuse voters. And voters are confused, according to the polls.

There is a lack of knowledge for who is supporting both initiatives; just 13 percent could correctly identify who was supporting what, said Mark Dicamillo, poll director for The Field Poll, an independent and non-partisan survey group. Warren called the vote between both initiatives a problematic issue.

We don’t favor one over the other because we think there are good things in both of them, Warren said. The propositions don’t allow you to compromise and get the good things out of either of them. Johnson revealed that she has yet to read the fine details of both programs but contends that she would lean toward the initiative that has the least corporate involvement. If both initiatives pass, the proposition garnering the largest number of votes would go into effect.

Should neither initiative pass, the California Legislature has the option of drafting a bill that compromises aspects of both initiatives. The results of this vote are unpredictable, DiCamillo said.

The public has mistrust for large companies, he said. But it’s not so much that they have problems with products; people are concerned whether the market is a free market and whether the prices are where they should be.

Source: RefillPill.com Editors' Choice