Uninsured Pay the Price for Medications

A survey by the US Public Interest Research Group found that uninsured consumers, including millions of seniors without prescription drug coverage, pay an average of 72% more than the federal government for medications. Uninsured people in Baltimore, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia pay the highest prices.

The report adds fuel to liberal criticism that Medicare drug bills now moving through Congress do not address the rising cost of pharmaceutical drugs. ?When 41 million uninsured Americans go it alone at the drug store, they pay the price?sometimes more than double what government agencies pay,? said Edmund Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the group (as reported in the Washington Post).