Deborah Koff Ross: “Adverse medical effects caused by patients misusing or not taking their medicine costs our health care system an…”

“Adverse medical effects caused by patients misusing or not taking their medicine costs our health care system an estimated $170 billion every year. Tragically, much of this cost results from seniors simply not being able to afford to buy the medicines they need or not knowing how best to take the drugs they have been prescribed. The prescription drug benefit bill that the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Emerson) and I have introduced, the bipartisan MEDS Act, addresses this heavy burden on our Nation's health care system. Our bill includes provisions that cover critical medical management services to monitor and ensure seniors know what medicines they are taking and how to take them properly. Some Members are concerned about the cost of providing a prescription drug benefit. Health insurance companies are in the business of making a profit and even they cover medicine as part of their health insurance plan, because they know it helps people to get well quicker, to live healthier lifestyles, and to live longer. Mr. Speaker, we need to put this issue into perspective and think about the cost of not providing a prescription drug benefit and the cost our overburdened health care system bears when seniors improperly take or simply cannot afford their medicines.”