People are talking: “United we can make a difference” to bring down Rx costs

Consumers are responding to Voices for Affordable Health blog posts on prescription drug prices with calls for ways to take an active role in bringing down costs.

“United we can make a difference, and we do have the power,” Zena Milovna wrote in response to a Voices for Affordable Health Facebook post about an EpiPen billing settlement. “It is our government, and we have the right to have it work for us.”

Mylan, the maker of EpiPen, reached a $465 million settlement agreement with the federal government over questions about whether the company overcharged Medicaid and Medicare.

“Need to keep the pressure up because this is a drop in the bucket,” Lee Martin said on Facebook.

We also heard from a lot of consumers in response to a Utah pediatrician’s column in The Salt Lake Tribune. Dr. Tyler Brown called out drug makers for a 300 percent increase in the cost of insulin between 2002 and 2013.

“The companies that produce [rapid-acting insulin] are able to set their own prices, and the families whose children depend on these medications to survive must pay the ransom,” Brown wrote. “Meaningful change can only begin when citizens are aware of and ready to address a problem of this magnitude.”

The Voices community responded with outrage.

“A price increase like this is unconscionable,” said Saundra Hopkins.

Another consumer, Kristina Blake, shared her story on VoicesForAffordableHealth.com. She understands the predicament all too well.

“I have type 1 (formerly juvenile onset) diabetes,” she wrote. “I require insulin to stay alive. The cost has gone from $45/vial to close to $1500/vial. Like man I use two vials a month. The increase cannot be attributed to ‘new and improved’ – there has been no change since about 2001.”

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