Proposed legislation wrong for Florida seniors
Florida is home to more seniors than almost anywhere else in the country. With more than 4 million residents age 65 and older, Florida is second nationally in total number of seniors, and seniors comprise a larger percentage of the total population than in any other state. Florida is often associated with retirees moving here to relax in beach-side communities, but in reality, the average senior citizen has a modest lifestyle, many have fixed incomes, and issues like health care costs have a significant impact on their ability to live healthy, dignified lives.
The rising cost of prescription drugs is an important pocketbook issue for Florida’s seniors, and this year it is getting a lot of attention in Tallahassee. Florida lawmakers’ efforts are well-intentioned, but current proposals – like SB 1550 / HB 1509 – would add new, costly regulations to seniors’ pharmacy benefits and drive up Medicare costs instead of reining in the big drug companies that set higher prices for patients’ medications.
Nearly 90 percent of seniors in the U.S. report taking at least one prescription, and more than 50 percent report taking four or more. These treatments are crucial components of seniors’ health care regimens and ensuring affordable access needs to be a priority. Unfortunately, about one out of every four seniors who take prescription drugs reports that it is difficult to afford their medication, and 21 percent say they have not taken their medication as prescribed over the past year due to cost. We should be taking steps to control costs and make treatment adherence easier.
However big drug companies are doing the opposite: They continue to increase the prices of medications Florida seniors depend on. Just this January, drug companies raised the price of nearly 1,000 drugs, including AbbVie’s widely used Humira, which treats autoimmune diseases, to more than $90,000 annually – up more than 470 percent from when it first came to market in 2003. In 2022, Humira generated more than $21 billion in revenue for AbbVie.
Neither SB 1550 or HB 1509 do anything to stop these out-of-control price hikes. Instead, they request that drug manufacturers report any price increases to the state – but do not prevent big drug companies from increasing prices, or even levy a fine or other consequence for higher prices. Proposals this toothless will not bring down drug prices.
The current push in Tallahassee to contain prescription costs ignores big drug companies and instead targets pharmacy benefits that help Floridians save money, on average more than $1,000 per person per year. SB 1550 / HB 1509 would increase costs by preventing health plan sponsors – like retirement plans, employers and government programs like Medicare – from providing patients access to lower-cost pharmacy options.
A study from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business found that one cost-saving approach in Medicare provides millions of dollars in Medicare Part D savings for seniors, Part D plans, and taxpayers. But SB 1550 / HB 1509 would actually eliminate this exact cost-saving approach.
SB 1550 / HB 1509 don’t stop there. The legislation would also limit other pharmacy benefits like home delivery of prescriptions, which is particularly valuable for seniors who have mobility or transportation limitations, and loosen pharmacy quality requirements designed to ensure patients’ safety.
Lawmakers are trying to make progress on prescription drug costs with SB 1550 / HB 1509, but they need to reassess their approach to the issue before they rush to pass this bill. Prescription drugs are too important to Florida’s more than 4 million seniors for our lawmakers to make this type of misstep. Florida patients can’t afford to lose their pharmacy benefits while big drug companies continue raising prices. Our lawmakers must protect Florida seniors and oppose SB 1550 / HB 1509.
Randy Ray is the chairman of Senior Consumers of America, a seniors advocacy group that monitors public policy issues at the local, state, and national levels. He has called Florida home for more than 30 years.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Proposed legislation wrong for Florida seniors
