State drug discount proposed for uninsured

By Julia C. Martinez, Denver Post Capitol Bureau
July 18, 2003

A Democratic lawmaker on Thursday proposed to protect uninsured Coloradans from high costs of prescription medication by having the state negotiate lower prices on their behalf.
Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Longmont, said he will sponsor legislation again next year to create a program similar to one in Maine, which enables uninsured citizens to get a discount on retail pharmaceutical prices.

"We don't want to wait for the federal government. We can solve the problem in Colorado," Pommer said at a news conference at the state Capitol to discuss a survey released earlier this week.

Pommer estimated that 100,000 Coloradans lack prescription drug coverage, including thousands of seniors.

The national survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that uninsured Americans pay an average of 72 percent more than the federal government for 10 common prescription drugs. Uninsured Coloradans are paying an average of 64 percent more for prescription medications, the report said.

While the federal government is able to use its buying power to negotiate lower prices for its employees, veterans and retirees, uninsured citizens have no one to negotiate on their behalf, said Rex Wilmouth of CoPIRG, the local arm of the national consumer advocacy group.
"They are at the whim of the pharmaceutical industry," Wilmouth said.

In dollars and cents, for example, the average price charged to uninsured Coloradans for a 30-day supply of the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor is $131.82. That is 94 percent more than the price charged the federal government, $67.81, the survey found.

For Celebrex, a medication for people with arthritis, the average monthly price for Colorado's uninsured is $166.54, 29 percent more than the federal supply price.

Denverite Martha Everett, 54, said that her eight prescription medicines cost $300 a month before she got help from the state's Indigent Care Program. She sometimes did not bother to get them refilled.

"It wasn't right for me to go without medication, but often I couldn't afford them," said Everett, a part-time employee of a Denver nonprofit agency.

The survey found that Denver ranks as one of the least expensive cities for uninsured consumers, yet prices also averaged 64 percent more than the federal price, roughly the same as statewide average prices.

Pommer proposed that the state use its buying power to obtain medicine for underinsured or uninsured Coloradans whose income is at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level. A similar measure he introduced in this year's legislative session was killed in committee.

Last month, the U.S. House and Senate passed differing versions of legislation to add drug coverage beginning in 2006 under Medicare. A conference committee will try to reach a compromise.