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Millions
using Discount Generic Drug Programs
Newswise — Nearly 70 million Americans have
used discount generic prescription drug
programs offered at major retail stores
across the country, say researchers with the
University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s
Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.
But in a report released today, the National
Poll on Children’s Health reveals it’s not
just the millions of uninsured U.S. adults
and children who retail stores claim the
programs were intended to aid that are
taking advantage of lower-price prescription
generic drugs – 47 percent of adults and 51
percent of children using these programs
have private insurance.
While uninsured adults and children have
used these programs at higher rates than
privately insured Americans, the poll shows
that they only represent a fraction of
program users.
In fact, only 17 percent of adults and 9
percent of children who use discount generic
prescription drug programs are uninsured.
“The prices of prescription medications have
reached a point now that we’re seeing
individuals from all insurance and income
groups looking for a lower-priced options,”
says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P.,
director of the National Poll on Children’s
Health.
“While these programs certainly are reaching
the uninsured, privately insured Americans
still make up the largest group of adults
and children using discount prescription
drug programs, simply because there are a
larger number of people in the U.S. with
insurance coverage.”
The National Poll on Children’s Health also
finds discount generic prescription drug
programs are more likely to be used by
adults with heart disease.
However, adults with other chronic illnesses
and children with chronic conditions use the
discount programs at the same rate as
patients without chronic illnesses.
Of those polled, 25 percent with chronic
illnesses report they did not use a discount
generic prescription drug program because
their medications are not currently
available through these programs.
“Many people may wonder, if these programs
are such a great deal, why people with
chronic conditions aren’t using them. And in
many cases, many medications for certain
chronic conditions are not offered through
these programs because they are not
available in generic form,” notes Davis.
“These
programs are a work in progress. So, even if
a patient’s medication isn’t available now,
I would encourage him to check back often
because the list of medications available
through these programs continues to grow.”
Not surprisingly, the National Poll on
Children’s Health shows households with
lower and middle incomes are more likely to
have used these programs than households at
higher incomes.
Among adults with annual household incomes
below $60,000, 28 percent have used discount
generic prescription drug programs. In
comparison, only 17 percent of adults with
annual household incomes of greater than
$60,000 have used such programs.
Overall, 25 percent of adults have used
discount generic drug programs, and 18
percent of parents have used these programs
for their children’s medications. Among
those who are uninsured, 36 percent have
bought prescription medications for adults
through these programs, and 24 percent have
used them to fill prescriptions for
uninsured children.
As a result, Davis says the National Poll on
Children’s Health findings indicate that
people are aware of and using discount
generic prescription drug programs offered
at major national retail stores.
“At this point, it’s not about getting the
word out about these programs,” he says.
“Instead, we need to work to encourage more
physicians to prescribe to their patients
the generic medications available through
these programs. It’s an opportunity to help
patients endure less of the economic burden
of buying costly prescription medications.”
For its report, the National Poll on
Children’s Health used data from a national
online survey conducted in December in
collaboration with Knowledge Networks Inc.
The survey was administered to a random
sample of 2,131 adults, ages 18 and older,
who are a part of Knowledge Network’s online
KnowledgePanelSM. The sample was
subsequently weighted to reflect U.S.
population figures from the U.S. Census
Bureau.
About three-fourths of the sample were
households with children.
Report highlights
• 25 percent of all adults have used
discount generic prescription drug programs;
more than two-thirds of these adults have
private insurance or Medicare.
• 18 percent of parents have used discount
generic prescription drug programs for their
children; over one-half of these children
have private insurance.
• Uninsured adults and children have used
discount generic prescription drug programs
at higher rates than the privately insured.
• Most adults and children with chronic
illnesses are no more likely to have used
discount generic prescription drug programs
than those without chronic conditions
For the complete report and podcast about
poll results, visit the C.S. Mott Children’s
Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health
online at
http://www.chear.umich.edu/mott/research/chearnpch.html.
The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National
Poll on Children’s Health – funded by the
Department of Pediatrics and Communicable
Diseases and part of the CHEAR Unit at the
U-M Health System – is designed to measure
major health care issues and trends for U.S.
children.
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