Medicare Beneficiaries Without Supplemental Coverage Less Likely to Receive Heart-Related Drugs, Study Finds

A new study released Oct. 10 found that Medicare beneficiaries with a history of heart problems who lack supplemental prescription drug coverage often do not receive higher-cost treatments that could extend their lives, Reuters/New York Times reports. The survey, conducted by Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in Boston, included responses from 1,908 adults ages 66 and older with a history of heart disease or heart attack. According to the report, only 4% of the participants who lacked supplemental prescription drug coverage used statins -- a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol that cost about $1.25 per dose -- although studies have found that the drugs may benefit as many as 60% of heart patients. The study also found that about 20% of respondents who lacked supplemental prescription drug coverage used beta blockers to treat high blood pressure and nitrates to treat chest pain, two classes of drugs that cost "far less" than statins (Reuters/New York Times, 10/10). "Our data indicate that those lacking coverage less frequently take statins, an expensive class of drugs that improve survival in most patients ... this finding may reflect the large financial burden of medication costs faced by patients without coverage," the report concluded. Dr. Alex Federman, lead author of the study, said that based on the findings, lawmakers "should really consider creating a prescription drug benefit that targets low-income patients with Medicare, specifically those who aren't quite poor enough to qualify for Medicaid but who don't have enough income to buy supplemental insurance or to pay for the medications out of their own pockets" (Reuters, 10/9).