PII News Release
Contact:
For Immediate Release:
Dr. Don Racheter
Monday, February 4, 2002
319-385-3462
The marketplace—not government—holds the key to immediate savings for patients who rely upon prescription drugs, according to a recently published survey.
The Iowa Prescription Drug Pricing Survey concludes that drug prices across Iowa vary greatly from pharmacy to pharmacy. The survey, which includes prices of four oft-prescribed drugs from thirty different pharmacies in ten cities across the state, drew its data from retailers ranging from supermarket pharmacies to chain drug stores to independent, “mom and pop” stores.
Among the survey’s key findings was that, simply by comparing drug prices at local pharmacies, patients can expect average savings on par with various legislative proposals.
From the survey:
“Consumers must be vigilant about checking costs every time they receive a new prescription. By taking just a few minutes to do so, the average patient can expect savings in excess of ten percent on the monthly prescription bill (saving just over eight percent per month will pay for one month of prescriptions over the span of a year).”
Of the pharmacies questioned, few displayed prices that were predominantly high or low in a particular city. Furthermore, no fewer than one in three had both the highest and lowest price for at least one of the four drugs sampled (relative to their competitors in the same city).
The Iowa Prescription Drug Pricing Survey is being released as a collaborative effort between Public Interest Institute and Public Issue Management, LLP, a government relations firm based in St. Paul, MN.
The survey may be viewed in its entirety at www.limitedgovernment.org .
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