Drug Costs

Anne Arundel County officials said a renegotiated contract will save taxpayers $17.6 million in prescription drug costs over the next three years. A new $215 million deal with CVS Caremark provides cheaper prescriptions to county government and school system employees, their families and retirees, officials announced Thursday. County Executive John R. Leopold and Anne Arundel County Schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell issued a joint announcement crediting the combined negotiating power of the organizations and the 22,500 people covered by the contract.

Anne Arundel County officials said a renegotiated contract will save taxpayers $17.6 million in prescription drug costs over the next three years. A new $215 million deal with CVS Caremark provides cheaper prescriptions to county government and school system employees, their families and retirees, officials announced Thursday. County Executive John R. Leopold and Anne Arundel County Schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell issued a joint announcement crediting the combined negotiating power of the organizations and the 22,500 people covered by the contract.

Seniors in Maryland have saved $56.5 million on prescription drug costs because of a provision under health care reform that has eased the Medicare donut hole, new government data has found. The savings were achieved with rebates and discounts to ease the burden of the donut hole, when patients reach certain limits that require them to pay 100 percent of their prescription drug costs. The $56.5 million in savings has occurred since health reform was adopted, according to The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Seniors in Maryland have saved $56.5 million on prescription drug costs because of a provision under health care reform that has eased the Medicare donut hole, new government data has found. The savings were achieved with rebates and discounts to ease the burden of the donut hole, when patients reach certain limits that require them to pay 100 percent of their prescription drug costs. The $56.5 million in savings has occurred since health reform was adopted, according to The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

A decision by retail giants Wal-Mart and Target to lower the price of hundreds of generic drugs signals a potential turning point in how much consumers pay for medication, some experts said yesterday. Wal-Mart announced this week that it would sell nearly 300 generic prescription drugs for as little as $4 for a month's supply. Target Corp. responded immediately, saying it would match the lower prices. For now, Wal-Mart is offering the discount only in its 65 stores in the Tampa, Fla., area.

Shop around 1 According to Tod Marks, a senior editor at Consumer Reports who focuses on prescription drugs, many consumers don't realize that drug costs can vary widely from one pharmacy to another. He recommends shopping around, and he says you can save hundreds of dollars if you are willing to do some price comparisons. "Pharmacies expect it," he says of the price questions. "These days there's complete price transparency. If you want to shop around, there's no doubt you can get the information you need."

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- If you want to know the cost of that much-needed prescription drug you're about to buy -- don't look to your doctors for guidance.Chances are they have only a vague idea or don't know at all. And don't be surprised if your pharmacist steps into the process, recommending cheaper generics or alternative medications.A pair of surveys released this week in Orlando show that not only are doctors generally unaware of how much the medications they prescribe cost their patients, but pharmacists are intervening aggressively in the doctor-patient relationship to lower costs.

Regardless of income, Baltimore residents can expect to start saving an average of 22 percent on their prescription drug costs, thanks to the city's newly adopted prescription drug discount card program sponsored by the National Association of Counties. Residents can pick up the card at local pharmacies, health clinics and libraries, and begin using it right away to reduce drug costs without filling out an application. An entire family can use a single card. "The discount card offers significant savings for the uninsured and underinsured residents of our city," said the city's interim health commissioner, Olivia Farrow.

WASHINGTON -- One reason -- perhaps a sufficient reason; certainly a matter of life and death -- for hoping Bill Bradley defeats Vice President Al Gore is an accusation Mr. Gore makes about Mr. Bradley. Mr. Gore says that when, as a senator, Mr. Gore, "was fighting for the consumers," Mr. Bradley aided the pharmaceutical industry, for example by favoring extensions for some pharmaceutical companies' patents. Mr. Gore deplores this because patents, which give innovating companies a period without competition from generic versions of drugs they develop, provide temporary protection from downward pressure on drug prices.

Lola Oriente, whose blood pressure recently measured a dangerous 196 over 115, isn't taking her medicine any more. She's trying garlic pills instead.An energetic woman of 70 who still teaches tap and ballroom dancing, Mrs. Oriente decided "this medication business is for the birds" after three years of paying $90 every few months for a prescription of the hypertension drug Vasotec.With a $22,000-a-year annual income and a husband whose own heart condition requires $200 worth of prescription medicine a -- month, Mrs. Oriente decided a year ago that she would rather take her chances on a stroke or heart attack than live like a pauper.

Medicare recipients in Maryland saved $46.2 million in prescription drug costs because of health care reform, the Obama Administration said today. The savings were achieved with rebates and discounts to ease the burden of the donut hole, when patients reach certain limits that require them to pay 100 percent of their prescription drug costs. The announcement was made as health care reform celebrates its second anniversary this week. In Maryland, 73,269 Medicare beneficiaries have saved an average of $630.19 onprescription drugs costs.  The savings came from a one-time $250 rebate check to seniors who hit the “donut hole” coverage gap in 2010 and a 50 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs in the donut hole in 2011.

The Federal Trade Commission announced that CVS Caremark Corp. agreed to pay $5 million to settle a complaint that it misinformed seniors about the price of certain Medicare Part D prescription drugs sold through CVS and Walgreens pharmacies. The action by the company, according to the FTC, caused seniors and consumers with disabilities to pay significantly more for drugs. It also pushed them more quickly into the so-called “doughnut hole,” in which drug costs aren't covered by the federal program.

In the scramble to cut the nation's debt burden, President Obama, congressional Democrats and even some Republicans have proposed squeezing money out of Medicare by changing the way it pays forprescription drugs. They claim this would save $112 billion over 10 years. But if passed it would be a disaster, costing hundreds of thousands of jobs in the biopharmaceutical industry - an important contributor to the Maryland economy - driving up drug prices and discouraging drug innovation.

Regardless of income, Baltimore residents can expect to start saving an average of 22 percent on their prescription drug costs, thanks to the city's newly adopted prescription drug discount card program sponsored by the National Association of Counties. Residents can pick up the card at local pharmacies, health clinics and libraries, and begin using it right away to reduce drug costs without filling out an application. An entire family can use a single card. "The discount card offers significant savings for the uninsured and underinsured residents of our city," said the city's interim health commissioner, Olivia Farrow.

Shop around 1 According to Tod Marks, a senior editor at Consumer Reports who focuses on prescription drugs, many consumers don't realize that drug costs can vary widely from one pharmacy to another. He recommends shopping around, and he says you can save hundreds of dollars if you are willing to do some price comparisons. "Pharmacies expect it," he says of the price questions. "These days there's complete price transparency. If you want to shop around, there's no doubt you can get the information you need."

When Angelo Ford was killed in a shooting Nov. 23 in South Baltimore's Sharp-Leadenhall community, just blocks from the heart of Federal Hill, the initial reports were that he had been shot over drugs. That was only part of the story. Ford, 49, was indeed shot over drugs, but not because he was buying them or fighting with a rival dealer - he was shot for trying to get a group of people to stop selling near his girlfriend's house, according to charging documents. His girlfriend, Saundra Grove, was also shot, and a 27-year-old neighborhood woman who has a history of drug convictions has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

The Maryland Senate approved a bill yesterday that is designed to lower prescription drug costs for the state's Medicaid program. The proposal, which goes to the House of Delegates, would require the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to negotiate with drug companies for rebates on prescription drugs. The department would compile a list of drugs for which the state is getting rebates, and ask doctors to use the list when writing prescriptions for Medicaid patients. Doctors could prescribe other drugs, but only after getting the approval of state health officials.

On issues as varied as prescription drug costs and racial profiling, new state laws that will take effect today will tackle many of the same problems that are likely to dominate the federal agenda this year. In South Carolina, for example, a new prescription drug program for low-income elderly residents takes effect today, paid for by $20 million from the General Assembly. Gov. Jim Hodges said the program was needed to ensure that the state's seniors would not be forced to choose between food and medicine.

Chester Burrell, chief executive of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, stood between Gov. Martin O'Malley and a phalanx of Maryland officials yesterday as they touted the company's contribution to help seniors pay for prescription drugs. After two months as CareFirst's CEO, Burrell is forging a relationship with state leaders that is in stark contrast to the rocky relations between state officials and his predecessor, William L. Jews. Before stepping down in 2006, Jews drew fire from lawmakers and regulators when he attempted to convert CareFirst to a for-profit operation and sell it several years ago. Burrell says he is committed to CareFirst's status as a not-for-profit entity.