CHICAGO – Skyrocketing prescription drug prices are stinging Illinois residents over the age 50 – forcing nearly 20 percent to cut back on the basics, like food and utilities, in order to afford needed medications, according to a recent AARP survey.

According to the survey, as brand-name drugs see record price increases, a majority of the state's 50-plus population is worried about being able to pay for medications in the coming year.

"No one should have to choose between filling their grocery cart and filling a prescription," said Merri Dee, state president for the AARP in Illinois. "The high cost of healthcare is taking a harsh toll on people of all age groups – older individuals in particular are struggling with soaring prescription costs."

Key survey findings include:

• 63 percent of AARP members in Illinois are concerned about affording their prescription drugs;
• close to 20 percent had to cut back on necessities to pay for prescriptions.
• 21 percent didn't fill or delayed filling a prescription due to cost;
• 18 percent took less than the prescribed amount to make the medicine last longer; and
• women and Hispanics tend to be harder hit by high drug costs than the general 50-plus population.

In the past year, prices for brand name prescription drugs increased an average of 8.7 percent, well past the 3.8 percent rate of general inflation. The increase marked the largest price jump in six years, while generic drug prices decreased by nearly 11 percent.

Already among the most expensive, specialty prescription drugs known as biologics – used to treat conditions that tend to affect older populations such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis – saw the largest price increases, at 9.3 percent. Generic versions of these drugs are not available, leaving consumers to either pay exorbitant prices or be forced to skip the medication.

As part of its push for national healthcare reform, the AARP has called on federal lawmakers to tackle the issue by closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap, known as the doughnut hole, and lowering drug costs by passing the "Promoting Innovation and Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act" (H.R. 1427/S. 726), which would allow consumers access to generic versions of expensive biologic drugs.

Photo by Matt Browne obtained under Creative Commons license.