More Americans—especially those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and depression-are going without prescription drugs because of cost concerns, according to a new national study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).
Among all American adults, prescription drug access problems rose markedly for adults with chronic conditions, increasing from 16.5 percent in 2001 to 18.3 percent in 2003. As a result, more than 14 million American adults with chronic conditions—more than half with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $36,800 for a family of four in 2003—could not afford all of their prescriptions in 2003.
"Adults with chronic conditions were twice as likely as other adults to have problems affording prescription drugs," said Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., president of HSC, a nonpartisan policy research organization funded principally by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The study's findings are based on HSC's Community Tracking Study Household Survey, a nationally representative survey that asked people about their ability to afford prescription medicines. In 2003, the survey included 36,500 adults 18 and older, while the 2001 survey included responses from 46,400 adults.
The proportion of all American adults reporting problems affording prescription drugs also ticked up between 2001 and 2003, increasing from 12 percent to 12.8 percent. This small but statistically significant increase in affordability problems likely resulted from higher prescribing rates and increased patient cost sharing, according to the study.
In another indication that increased patient cost sharing contributes to prescription affordability problems, the proportion of privately insured, working-age people with chronic conditions who reported not filling at least one prescription because of cost concerns increased from 12.7 percent to 15.2 percent between 2001 and 2003.
"As medical needs for prescription drugs continue to grow, it's likely that the proportion of working-age Americans, especially those with chronic conditions, going without prescription drugs because of cost concerns will continue to grow," said Marie Reed, M.H.S., an HSC health research analyst and study author.
The study's findings are detailed in a new HSC Issue Brief—An Update on Americans' Access to Prescription Drugs. Other key findings include: