The Human Cost of High Prescription Drug Prices Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

​People Share Their Stories The Human Cost of High Prescription Drug Prices

​Why AARP keeps fighting to get your medication expenses under control

Courtesy Mike McMichael, Pat Munn, and Vincent Burns In just two years Vincent Burns has spent about $40,000 on life-saving drugs to keep his cancer at bay, draining his savings. Patricia Munn doesn't understand why she's paying so much for the two insulins she takes every day to stay alive. And William "Mike" McMichael has seen the cost of the blood thinner he needs eat up the small pension he gets after being an EMT and volunteer firefighter for more than three decades.
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. These three individuals are enrolled in Medicare. But they have all been faced with high prescription drug costs that they say increase without warning and that they struggle to afford. AARP has been fighting to convince Congress to directly with manufacturers, cap annual out-of-pocket costs for medications and penalize drugmakers for increasing prices more than inflation. Polls reveal that the public supports these positions. A 2021 AARP survey of voters age 50 and older found that . And a new Gallup poll found that about 18 million Americans were unable to afford at least one prescription drug. As part of its , AARP has asked older adults to share their prescription drug receipts in an effort to show lawmakers the toll that persistently high prices are taking on them. Here are three stories that illustrate the difficulties individuals face affording their needed medications.

Cancer drug more expensive at home than hospital

When Vincent Burns was first diagnosed with cancer five years ago, he began getting his chemotherapy treatment as a hospital outpatient. The infusions were covered by Medicare Part B, which helps pay for doctor visits and other outpatient services , including the administration of certain medications. But when doctors decided that the best course would be for the 68-year-old retired business office worker from Matawan, New Jersey , to take his medicine at home — in the form of a pill rather than an infusion — the cost jumped to $1,000 a month. "I was originally pleased that I didn't have to deal with three hours in a facility and just had to take a pill at home," Burns told AARP. But what he d idn 't understand was why, just by switching how and where he got his medicine, he went from paying nothing out of pocket to paying thousands of dollars each year. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > Burns has considered asking his doctors if he can go back to getting the medicine as an outpatient again because of the cost. "It's beyond stupid that I can go to a hospital and walk away paying nothing out of pocket, but it costs $1,000 for the same treatment at home," he says. He's hoping Congress follows through on a proposal lawmakers are considering to cap out-of-pocket drug costs.

Insulin prices dominate her life

Patricia Munn has to take four shots of insulin each day to control her type 1 diabetes. And that's just one of eight medications she takes to treat her condition. The 76-year-old retired secretary from Southampton, New Jersey , is on a fixed income, and at the height of the pandemic , the cost of her insulin spiked from $80 for a 90-day supply of two insulins to nearly $800. Her out-of-pocket costs have since dropped, but she still pays $210 every three months — more than double what she was paying before the price went up. Munn has Medicare, a supplemental plan and Part D prescription drug coverage, but insurance covers only so much. The list price for just one of her insulins, she says, is $1,500. "I don't know why insulin skyrocketed like that," Munn says. All of this has affected Munn's ability to pay her bills. "I live in a 55 -and -up community in a small ranch. It's all electric , and my electric bill is out of sight," she says, also pointing to other utility bills. She's seen the cost of food and other essentials go up as well. The result is that she's carrying high credit card debt just to make ends meet. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS