The exponentially rising costs of prescription medication (and of course, health care in general) aren’t news to anyone, but an article called “One Third Of Uninsured Can’t Afford To Take Drugs As Prescribed” caught our attention this month. It prompted us to take a quick look again at the problem, and even include some places to go for help if the cost of prescriptions is an issue for you…
Here’s the problem…
One-Third Of Uninsured Can’t Afford To Take Drugs As Prescribed, Says Government Report, Tami Luhby on CNN, Mar 2019
When Medicines Are Unaffordable, Here’s How Patients Cut Costs, Megan Thielking on StatNews.com, Mar 2019
As Prescription Drug Costs Climb, Solutions Remain Evasive, Courtney Sherwood in the Lund Report, Nov 2016
Danger of Unaffordable Drugs, Jackie Judd on ABCNews, Mar 2019
When the Cost of Medications Keeps Patients from Taking Them, Timothy Kelley in Managed Care, Jun 2018
A Bitter Pill: The Human Toll of Unaffordable Medicines, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Faced With Unaffordable Drug Prices, Tens Of Millions Buy Medicine Outside U.S., Rachel Bluth in Kaiser Health News, Dec 2016
Unaffordable Drugs: Simple Greed or a Complex Market? ConscienHealth.org, Mar 2019
New Effective Medicines Are Of No Use If They Are Unaffordable, John ROther in The Pharmaceutical Journal, Sep 2015
Even the Insured Often Can’t Afford Their Medical Bills, Helaine Olen in The Atlantic, Jun 2017
Here’s the help…
Oregon Coalition for Affordable Prescriptions (OCAP)
Getting Help Paying For Medications, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website
Oregon Prescription Drug Program, Oregon Health Authority website
SimpleFill– Help paying for prescription drugs
Uninsured or Underinsured? Where to Find Help, Karen Lee Richards, HealthCentral, Nov 2010
NeedyMeds– Finding help with the cost of medicine
Partnership for Prescription Assistance– Get prescription help
And here’s the REAL help…
We all have to make do as best we can under our current ‘healthcare system’, but these problems will persist until we have SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE IN THE US! 
To help with the push for the healthcare we all need, you can start with Health Care For ALL Oregon. Call them today, or join us April 27 at the 8th Annual Inner City Blues Festival “Healing the Healthcare Blues” benefit… the most fun you’ll ever have with anything to do with health care!
