Many State Seniors Do Not Fill Prescriptions, Take Prescribed Doses of Treatments To Reduce Costs, Study Finds
About 18% of California seniors last year did not fill a prescription or did not take prescribed doses of a treatment to "make their medications last longer" and reduce costs, a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey released yesterday found. In the survey, researchers from the foundation and Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston interviewed 2,380 California seniors as part of a larger eight-state study. The survey of California seniors found:
- 18% of California seniors did not have prescription drug coverage in 2001, 30% received coverage through Medicare+Choice plans and 30% received coverage through employer-sponsored health plans;
- 16% of California seniors with prescription drug coverage in 2001 did not take prescribed doses of a treatment as a result of cost;
- 29% of California seniors without prescription drug coverage in 2001 did not take prescribed doses of a treatment as a result of cost, and more than 33% without prescription drug coverage and with chronic conditions did not take prescribed doses of a treatment as a result of cost;
- 11% of California seniors with prescription drug coverage spent $100 or more per month on medication in 2001; 39% without prescription drug coverage spent $100 or more per month; 27% with multiple chronic conditions spent $100 or more per month; more than 25% with Medigap prescription drug coverage spent $100 or more per month; and 10% who received prescription drug coverage through Medicare+Choice plans, employer-sponsored health plans or Medi-Cal spent $100 or more per month;
- 56% of California seniors with annual incomes less than the federal poverty level in 2001 received prescription drug coverage through Medi-Cal; and
- 77% of California seniors in 2001 reported "never having heard" about the Pharmacy Assistance Program, the state's prescription drug discount program for Medicare beneficiaries, and only 35% who had heard about the program received discounts through the program.
"With nearly one in five lacking drug coverage, and seniors with serious chronic conditions skipping doses or foregoing medications, the Medicare drug debate has very real consequences for California seniors," Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 10/31). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.