Posted by Michael Wonder on 31 May 2019
High drug costs lead 5 percent of seniors to skip or ration medication, study finds
30 May 2019 - Nearly 5% of adults over age 65 said they rationed medication, skipped doses or didn’t fill a prescription in an effort to control their prescription drug costs, according to a new data brief from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Women, seniors under age 74, those covered by Medicare only, and those just above the poverty line were the most likely to take this approach to coping with high drug costs, researchers found.
Almost two thirds of adults over age 65 have at least two chronic conditions, potentially exposing them to high prescription drug costs for maintenance medications.
But rationing medication can have serious health implications. Researchers noted that lack of medication adherence has been associated with increased emergency room use and hospitalisations.
