Pros And Cons Of Prescription Drugs Among Older Americans

Older Americans are concerned about how they will afford their medications while the cost is still increasing. Drug companies are seeking enormous profits out of elderly illnesses by setting high prices for their medications. Senior Americans are unable to afford prescription drugs. They spend more than half of their out-of-pocket health expenditures on medications. According to Physician Joseph Doyle, the author of “Pros and Cons of Prescription Drug Benefit Changes” emphasizes that, “The elderly mostly use prescription drugs. More than a third of them, on any given day, have no insurance to pay for those medications” (Doyle). This demonstrates how the high cost of medications impacts the society because an average senior typically spends over six hundred dollars annually on both prescription drugs and nonprescription drugs.

Also seniors reported skipping medication in the past due to the high cost that they are not able to afford. In the article “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Financial Burden of Prescription Drugs Among Older Americans”, professor Tom Xu at Texas Tech University asserts that, “Higher utilization of prescription drugs, fragile elderly patients often bear a greater financial burden of prescription drugs than the working age adults” (Xu). Furthermore, this lead elders rationing their own medicines by not taking them as often as they should. They are more likely to split their pills without talking with a doctor and using expired medication. They will eventually take their medications every other day, instead of every day. Stretching out their medication and skipping drug doses will worsen their chronic conditions. As a result, prescription drugs have been causing pain and hardships for millions of