Press release
Contact: Walter Fields
(646) 942-2788
wfields@cssny.org
MORE THAN ONE IN FIVE LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS WERE UNABLE TO FILL NEEDED PRESCRIPTIONS ACCORDING TO CSS SURVEY
Results Reinforce New City Council Report
October 4, 2006, New York, New York— More than one in five low-income New Yorkers could not afford to fill needed drug prescriptions during the past year, according to the preliminary findings of a survey conducted by the Community Service Society of New York (CSS). The survey results mirror a New York City Council report released today showing that prescription drug prices vary widely among city pharmacies, with some charging nearly seven times as much as others for the same medication.
“The finding that so many New Yorkers are not able to pay for needed prescriptions underscores the importance of the wide pricing differentials uncovered by the Council’s investigation. Today, drugs are such an essential part of medical treatment that not being able to fill a prescription amounts to not being able to get needed health care,” said David R. Jones, CEO and president of CSS. “We support the Council’s recommendations to make comparative price information more readily available to the public through website and store postings and educating the public about generic drugs. That will help, but it will not be enough for many of the working poor who do not get health or drug benefits from their employers.” The CSS survey found that among the working poor 24 percent were unable to afford prescription drugs.
The inability to obtain medications has been a persistent problem reported by 20 percent or more of low-income families every year since CSS began tracking their hardships in 2002. Nine percent of moderate and higher-income New York City households surveyed reported being unable to afford a prescription in sharp contrast to the 22 percent of low-income households who faced that problem. Among low-income families with children under age six, 28 percent said they were unable to fill a needed prescription over the past year, while 35 percent of the uninsured said they were not able to purchase prescription drugs. Among low-income families with children that had health insurance for only part of the year, nearly half were unable to fill a needed prescription.
David Jones added, “While the city has made strides in simplifying the application and the re-certification process for Child Health Plus and Family Health Plus, there is still much room for improvement as evidenced by the high number of families and children that cannot obtain or keep their coverage.”
The CSS findings are part of its annual survey, The Unheard Third, based on telephone interviews in July and August, 2006, with 1,230 New Yorkers living below twice the federal poverty guidelines, $33,200 for a family of three. CSS will be releasing additional findings from The Unheard Third in the coming weeks. The survey is administered for CSS by Lake Research Partners, a Washington-based polling firm, with support from the United Way of New York City and The New York Community Trust.
The Community Service Society (CSS) is a leading, independent,
nonprofit organization that provides innovative solutions to the
most urgent problems facing low-income New Yorkers. Please visit
the Community Service Society’s website at www.cssny.org.
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