Prescription costs and health consequences

We need universal health care in this country including prescription benefits. I want you to see an article entitled "Study finds higher drug costs discourage use". Take a look:

CHICAGO, July 3 (Reuters) - Pushing more of the cost of prescription drugs onto consumers causes patients to cut back, sometimes with adverse health consequences, according to a review of two decades worth of studies published on Tuesday.

Such devices as higher co-payments, monthly limits and benefit caps are "associated with lower rates of drug treatment, worse adherence among existing users, and more frequent discontinuation of therapy," said the report from RAND, Santa Monica, California.

"For each 10 percent increase in cost sharing, prescription drug spending decreases by 2 percent to 6 percent, depending on class of drug and condition of the patient," added the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

For some chronic conditions such as congestive heart failure, high cholesterol, diabetes, schizophrenia and perhaps asthma, higher cost sharing seems to result in increased use of medical services, such as visits to emergency rooms or hospitals, the report said.

And, of course, emergency room care is the most expensive form of medical care there is. When will we learn that it will be cheaper for society in the long run to help people stay on their meds?