AARP: 21 percent not filling, delaying Rx

CHICAGO, July 13 (UPI) -- Twenty-one percent of AARP members surveyed in Illinois report not filling or delaying filling prescriptions due to cost, a survey indicated.

Nearly one in five said they had to cut back on food and utilities to afford needed medications, the AARP survey of Illinois residents 50 and over indicated.

The survey found 63 percent are concerned about affordability of their prescription drugs. Eighteen percent reported they took less than the prescribed amount to make the medicine last longer.

The survey found women and Hispanics say they tend to be harder hit than the general 50-plus population by high drug costs.

In the past year, prices for brand-name prescription drugs increased an average of 8.7 percent, while generic drug prices decreased by nearly 11 percent, Merri Dee, president for AARP in Illinois, said.

Prices of specialty prescription drugs, used to treat conditions that tend to affect older populations such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, increased by 9.3 percent.

The results are based on responses from 753 AARP members in Illinois who completed mail surveys between Oct. 31 and Dec.1, 2008. No margin of error was provided.