Low-income seniors pay more for drugs

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. seniors with low incomes or no prescription coverage are less likely to use generic cardiovascular drugs than more affluent seniors, a study finds.

Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York say that seniors with low incomes or no prescription coverage were less likely to use generic cardiovascular drugs than more affluent seniors and those with prescription-drug coverage.

The study, published in The American Journal of Managed Care, is the first nationally representative study that examines the association of income and prescription drug coverage with generic medication use by Medicare beneficiaries, according to lead author Dr. Alex D. Federman.

Federman and colleagues examined generic cardiovascular drug use in a nationally representative sample of elderly Medicare beneficiaries with hypertension.

The findings showed that older patients with cardiovascular diseases often used costly brand name drugs when equivalent but lower cost generic versions are available.

"The patients that we were concerned about are low-income and underinsured seniors," said Federman. "Our findings show this group in-particular are missing opportunities to save money on prescription drugs without sacrificing quality of care."