Overview
Prescription drug prices are skyrocketing, keeping critical medication out of the reach of the hundreds of thousands of uninsured and underinsured New Mexicans. On average, New Mexicans spent $51.63 each time they had a prescription filled or refilled in 2002, 11.2 percent higher than the year before. A recent NMPIRG Education Fund study, "Paying the Price," found uninsured consumers in Albuquerque pay 66 percent more for the ten most common prescription medications than the federal government pays for its employees.
Fortunately, New Mexico offers a solution to senior citizens—SenioRx. SenioRx offers lower drug prices to all New Mexican seniors who enroll, especially the un- and underinsured. SenioRx is a program administered by the New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority which, at no cost to participants, negotiates a prescription drug price discount for enrolled residents 65 years of age and older using the economic power of buying in bulk. Savings estimates for participants in the SenioRx program are typically 13 percent below the average wholesale price on brand-name drugs and as much as 55 percent on generics.
At the close of 2003, only 1,200 New Mexican seniors were enrolled while estimates show that up to 110,000 eligible senior citizens lack prescription drug coverage and could therefore benefit from participating in the program. We are working to increase the number of program participants to 12,000 in the next year through signing up seniors at senior centers, engaging community groups to enroll seniors, and increasing media visibility of the program.
