Perspective               

Drug Prices Impact Health

A report in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that there is a relationship between drug prices and the health of older adults, with lower prices equaling longer lives. According to report author Louise Russell, a health care economist at the Rutgers University, "if a drug is cheaper you can cover more people for a million dollars and you'll have more impact on health because you'll be helping more people."

The report looked at seven cost-effectiveness studies published between 1997 and 2000 that involved medications for older adults. One of the studies upon which the report was based proved that affordable statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) significantly extended the lives of the surveyed population, aged 75 to 84.

Russell said that this report is important because much of the debate over a Medicare prescription drug benefit has focused on the overall cost to the government and the out-of-pocket costs to people with Medicare, but has overlooked the health consequences of various proposals. She said that lawmakers need to evaluate Medicare drug benefit proposals in terms of health effects per dollar, not just dollars.

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