Report finds San Franciscans pay more
for prescription drugs

By Erica Holt, Bay City News Service

July 11, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - Uninsured residents in San Francisco pay 68 percent more than the federal government pays for 10 commonly prescribed drugs, according to a report released today by the non-profit advocacy organization California's Public Interest Research Group.

San Francisco ranked third out of 35 cities surveyed on prescription drug prices by researchers for CALPIRG, who obtained price information from pharmacies by posing as uninsured consumers.

The average price of the 10 drugs CALPIRG surveyed was $85.32 in San Francisco and $81.31 nationally. The federal government pays an average of $50.71 for the same 10 drugs.

The federal government "negotiates prices for veterans, employees of federal government and retirees,'' much like a managed care organization, CALPIRG consumer advocate Emily Rusch said. Uninsured consumers have no one to negotiate on their behalf and must pay full price for their medications, she said.

It is "shocking to see the difference," she said.

CALPIRG compared individual prices to federal drug prices because they are publicly available, according to Rusch.

According to the report, the uninsured in San Francisco also pay more than twice as much for their medication at local drug stores as they would pay at a Canadian pharmacy.

The anxiety drug Lexapro, the cholesterol drug Lipitor and the blood pressure drug Norvasc cost more in San Francisco than in almost every other U.S. city surveyed, according to CALPIRG.

The report did not include a survey of prices for prescription drugs paid by private insurance holders or seniors buying drugs from a new federal government drug purchase program.

According to CALPIRG, spending by Americans on prescription drugs in 2005 was $251.8 billion, an increase of close to $50 billion from 2003.

CALPIRG's report attributes higher drug costs to delays in getting cheaper generic drugs on store shelves and appeals by pharmaceutical companies to consumers to buy brand name drugs as well as drug companies approaching physicians directly.

The report calls on the federal government to facilitate the distribution of generic drugs and to create "buying pools'' for consumers through local agencies or employers to increase their buying power.

Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

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