David Lutz is a community pharmacist from Hummelstown, PA, and the story he tells of his customers not being able to afford their prescription medications has unfortunately been too common in communities across the nation. But the Affordable Care Act is already helping turn their difficult situation around.
For years, David says, many of his customers have come in and asked him which of their prescriptions they could skip or which pills they could cut in half. They needed to make tough choices to save money on prescription drug costs. This was especially true for seniors on fixed incomes and unable to keep up with rising health care costs. Some of them were choosing between their rent and their medicines.
“They were splitting pills, taking doses every other day, missing doses, stretching their medications,” he says, noting that not taking their medications as prescribed was not good for their health.
But, according to David, this has begun to change since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. The new health care law provides important relief to seniors, including a 50 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs for those in the coverage gap known as the “donut hole.” The donut hole will be closed for good by 2020.
Fonte: White House