State urged to act With a reputation as the health care state, Hawaii has a big hole in health care coverage for prescription drugs for the elderly, says a national health care expert.
against increasing
drug prices
A Senate panel is told drug
prices went up about 9.4% each
year over the past decadeBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com"You are well positioned to address this issue here, and I hope you do so," said John C. Rother, director of legislation and public policy for the American Association of Retired Persons.
Rother told a state Senate panel yesterday that the state needs to enact legislation to cope with the rising costs of prescription drugs, which affect seniors greatly because most are on fixed incomes and have only Medicare insurance, which does not cover the cost of drugs.
Rother said there is a sense of urgency nationwide because the cost of prescription drugs rose about 9.4 percent each year over the past decade. He said there are projections it will rise about 11 percent a year for the next 10 years.
"The problems are going to get more intense," he said.
Rother suggested Hawaii create a prescription drug program that groups people together so the state can collectively leverage drug manufacturers for discount drug prices.
He pointed to Maine's promising new program, which gives Maine residents the buying clout to get drugs at discount rates up to 30 percent below retail. Drug manufacturers challenged the validity of the program in court, but so far it has been upheld, Rother said.
Moreover, Maine's program also has mandated caps on drug prices if drug manufacturers are reluctant to lower their prices.
Locally, the state Senate did not support House measures to address the issue earlier this year because it wanted to study it during the interim.
State Sen. Ron Menor said he hopes both sides can reach a consensus next year, when he intends to introduce such legislation.
Among the possibilities, Menor said, is to look at a proposal similar to Maine's system -- buying pools to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, tax credits or even possibly eliminating the state general excise tax on prescription drugs.
Others who testified before the Senate Consumer Protection Committee yesterday said help is needed now.
Greg Marchildon, Hawaii state director of the AARP, said about 10,000 Hawaii residents and members signed a petition asking Hawaii's congressional delegation to pass some sort of prescription drug legislation.
Marchildon said even sons and daughters of seniors have asked the AARP for help on how they can cope with the rising drug costs.
"We know that this is an issue for folks in the state," he said.
For example, Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono told the panel she and her mother are on the same prescription drug. But because Hirono has drug insurance, her copayment to buy 30 pills of the drug is $15. The same amount of pills costs her mother $70, she said.
Rother said President Bush recently announced a prescription drug discount card, endorsed by Medicare, that would give seniors between 10 percent and 40 percent discounts on drugs.
But, he said, the AARP has found the higher discounts are for generic drugs, while the lowest discounts apply to the high-profile, more expensive drugs.
"This card program is useful but not sufficient by itself," he said.
Similar hearings by the Senate panel will be held in Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Kahului and Lihue in the next few weeks.
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