Become a Member! (click here) Tackling the Skyrocketing Costs of Prescription Drugs The exorbitant cost of prescription drugs is a devastating health and financial problem for many NH citizens, especially our seniors and people with disabilities. In fact, the proportion of NH seniors without prescription drug coverage is higher than the national average (approximately 56 percent of NH seniors vs. 38 percent nationally). FACT: The prices of the 50 prescription drugs most used by older Americans increased by nearly three times the rate of inflation during 2001. While senior citizens generally live on fixed incomes that are adjusted to keep up with the rate of inflation, the cost of prescription drugs they purchase most frequently has risen at approximately two times the rate of inflation during the past eight years. At the same time, the pharmaceutical industry consistently ranks first on the Fortune 500 revenue index. With more than $20.3 billion in recent profits among them, pharmaceutical companies have topped the automotive industry, the seven major oil companies, the airlines industry, and the entertainment industry in annual profits. Prescription drugs are the most widely used form of health care in the U.S. Virtually every NH resident needs, has used, or will use prescription drugs in their lifetime. The vast majority of Americans report that they take prescription drugs (91%), and more than half (54%) say that they do so on a regular basis. A recent national survey finds that nearly one-third of Americans said that they have not filled a prescription because of the cost; one quarter said that they have given up other things to buy prescription drugs for themselves or their families; and 10 percent report giving up basic necessities such as food in order to pay for medicines. More than 1 in 10 (14%) Americans say that it is a "serious problem" to pay for the prescription medicines needed for either themselves or their families. Prescription Access Litigation Project To address NH citizens' problems with accessing affordable prescription drugs, NHCA has come together with more than 70 other grassroots organizations throughout the U.S. to launch the Prescription Access Litigation Project (PAL). PAL's mission is to make prescription drugs more accessible to consumers by undertaking class action litigation against prescription drug companies that maintain high prices for drugs by using unfair and illegal practices. These drug company practices include: keeping lower-cost generic drugs off the market, maintaining patentes beyond their legal life, and deceptive advertising PAL's approach -- lodging class action lawsuits against drug manufacturers for these unfair and illegal practices -- is often the only way to remedy injustices committed by these powerful, multi-million dollar corporations. By challenging the companies' monopolistic and anti-competitive practices, lawsuits can open the way for less expensive generic drugs to come to market. Current PAL lawsuits include litigation against the manufacturers of these brand-name drugs: BuSparİ Ciproİ Claritinİ K-Durİ Lupronİ Neurontinİ Relafenİ Remicadeİ Tamoxifen For more information about how the PAL project, please contact us at nhca@totalnetnh.net Click here to sign a petition to the U.S. Congress or send a letter to your elected officials:www.fairdrugprices.org For more information on prescription drug prices, visit: www.familiesusa.org