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Years ago, Maine seniors boarded buses to Canada, where they purchased lower-cost prescription medications. Now, patients young and old skip doses of essential prescriptions that they struggle to afford, sometimes with tragic consequences. High prescription drug prices have been in the headlines for at least a generation. Some important steps have been taken to lower the costs of some medications. Yet, far too many Americans struggle to afford the medication they need, in some cases very literally to survive. (5/10)

Medicare beneficiaries have been among the hardest-hit populations by the pandemic for the last 13 months — about eight in 10 COVID-19 deaths were among people 65 and older. But the pandemic is not the first or only crisis our nation’s older adults have faced over the last several years. Seniors who depend on the Medicare Part D drug benefit are also the most likely to need life-saving prescriptions that they can’t afford. It has been 15 years since the Part D prescription drug benefit was created, and although the program is popular, it has not kept pace with the needs of patients with life-threatening, chronic and rare diseases. The Medicare Part D benefit requires thoughtful updates to ensure the more than 46 million people who rely on the program can afford their prescribed medications. (Amy Niles and Michael Ward, 5/7)

Over the past two years, three small locally owned pharmacies in Orange County have closed, largely because of the economic pressures from pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) companies, said Good NeighboRx owner Al Squitieri.  “Orange County, New York, we deserve better than that,” he said.  PBMs are hired by health plans or insurers to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers and distributors, and to negotiate pharmacy pricing. The industry says the negotiations lead to overall lower prescription drug costs. Critics, including Skoufis, say PBMs have not cut costs for health plans or for consumers. (Heather Yakin, 5/7)

Got an extra $300,000 lying around? That’s how much an average couple retiring at age 65 can expect to pay out of pocket for healthcare over the remainder of their lives. That’s the annual estimate courtesy of Fidelity Investments, and it’s up 1.7% from a year ago. Fidelity says single men retiring at 65 can expect to fork over $143,000 in retirement. Because women typically live longer, their figure is $157,000. (Paul Brandus, 5/7)

The Senate had a long debate last Thursday and Friday on SB-175, the Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board bill. No doubt the sponsors’ hearts are in the right place, but…In a nutshell, the bill creates a board of appointed officials with no accountability to the citizens to review prescription drug prices and cap those prices that they believe are too high. This board’s decision carries the weight of the law, each violation results in a $1,000 fine. (Sen. Dennis Hisey, 5/10)