|
|
Prescription Drug Coverage
|
|
Half of Americans Need Health Insurance Coverage for Their Prescription Drugs
May 2008
We've all heard in recent news about the prevalence of prescription drug use in America, and the ways that pharmaceutical companies have worked to increase that use. But until now, there haven't been many cold, hard facts on exactly how many people with health insurance coverage rely on medication every single day.
A report released on Tuesday by Medco Health Solutions has found that 51% of U.S. residents rely on one or more prescription drugs for chronic disease on a daily basis.
It's not clear which is more disturbing, that prescription drug use is so prevalent, or that 51% of Americans have a chronic disease in the first place.
In light of such data it's clearer how affordable health insurance has been waning in the last 10 years. In fact, health insurance coverage premiums and costs have risen at twice the rate of inflation since the year 2000, making health care one of the top economic concerns for all Americans.
And now there's a catch 22 - if you're healthy it's easier to get affordable health insurance, but if you're sick and need regular care or prescription drugs, it often costs so much that those people who need care the most can't get it.
Their costs are then absorbed into the health care system, which raises health insurance coverage premiums, and makes affordable health insurance even harder to come by for everyone.
Clearly, this is a system in need of a major overhaul.
Worse yet, most physicians expect the percentage of U.S. residents who rely on medications for chronic conditions to go up even more in the future.
There are many factors at play here, including public health, lifestyle decisions, access to health insurance coverage, and the aggressive advertising campaigns waged by the pharmaceutical industry in the last 10 years.
But, in order for all Americans to have access to affordable individual health insurance the medical system itself needs a major overhaul, after which most experts agree it will become much easier to tackle everything else.
 Do you recommend this article to others?
|
|
|
|
