JACKSONVILE, Fla. -- Michael Harrell said he has noticed the cost of his prescription drugs.
"It's not getting any better. It's getting worse. It's going up," he said.
Though he has health coverage, he said in the last 6 months, his prescription has risen from about $48 to $72. He said he's having to shop around in hopes of "finding what i really can use without spending too much."
"I am angry at the fact that legitimate patients cannot get their meds," Dr. Marc Raitt, outpatient pharmacy director at Memorial apothecary said.
"So, we're not seeing five percent to seven percent. We're seeing 500%, to 1000% to 2000% increases," he explained.
For example, Raitt said Digoxin, a drug that helps control your heart rate used to be $213 per 1000 pills
"If i had to buy this now," he said holding up a bottle of pills. "It would probably cost me about $1,400- $1,500"
Raitt said birth control pills used to cost $18 now cost $40-$60 bucks. He said Doxocycline, used to treat bacterial infections, used to be $30 per bottle of 500 pills. Now he said a bottle of 50 pills costs $276.
Michael Jackson, CEO of the Florida Pharmacy Association, told FCN prescription drug costs are rising across the nation , not only Florida. Jackson said there are already some cases where pharmacies in Florida have had to close for reasons including prescription drug costs.
Raitt said, "One of the reasons I thought that we had heard was that in January, drug companies are not going to be allowed to increase prices."
Though he has health coverage, he said in the last 6 months, his prescription has risen from about $48 to $72. He said he's having to shop around in hopes of "finding what i really can use without spending too much."
"I am angry at the fact that legitimate patients cannot get their meds," Dr. Marc Raitt, outpatient pharmacy director at Memorial apothecary said.
"So, we're not seeing five percent to seven percent. We're seeing 500%, to 1000% to 2000% increases," he explained.
For example, Raitt said Digoxin, a drug that helps control your heart rate used to be $213 per 1000 pills
"If i had to buy this now," he said holding up a bottle of pills. "It would probably cost me about $1,400- $1,500"
Raitt said birth control pills used to cost $18 now cost $40-$60 bucks. He said Doxocycline, used to treat bacterial infections, used to be $30 per bottle of 500 pills. Now he said a bottle of 50 pills costs $276.
Michael Jackson, CEO of the Florida Pharmacy Association, told FCN prescription drug costs are rising across the nation , not only Florida. Jackson said there are already some cases where pharmacies in Florida have had to close for reasons including prescription drug costs.
Raitt said, "One of the reasons I thought that we had heard was that in January, drug companies are not going to be allowed to increase prices."
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