Medicare Part D less of a bargain than the VA for prescription drugs, study finds

The AMA and Families USA say the solution is to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies.

By David Glendinning, AMNews staff. Jan. 23, 2006.

Washington -- The seniors who started receiving prescription medications under Medicare's new drug benefit earlier this month -- and the taxpayers supporting them -- are already paying entirely too much money, a consumer advocacy group contends.

A recent study by Families USA concluded that the prices available for drugs under Medicare Part D, which launched Jan. 1, are significantly higher than what the Dept. of Veterans Affairs has negotiated for its own beneficiaries. The median price difference between the two programs for the 20 drugs most commonly prescribed by physicians to seniors is nearly 50%.

For some patients, this means that the affordability of the drugs their physicians say they need will remain out of reach, the group said.

In some cases, the differences in the potential yearly bills are significant. For Medicare beneficiaries living in Delaware, Maryland, Ohio or Washington, D.C., for instance, the lowest available price from any Part D plan for a year's worth of the cholesterol drug Zocor is $1,323.72. Those eligible to receive medications through the VA system can find the same drug for only $167.80 per year.

Only one drug in the top 20 list, the acid reflux medication Nexium, can be found for a lower yearly price from Medicare than from the VA, the study said.

Such cost differences mean big bucks out of the pockets of Medicare beneficiaries, who on average will foot about one-quarter of the bill, with taxpayers picking up the rest, said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.