Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer says that a new healthcare reform bill, which will help more than 3 million seniors nationwide who are currently in the prescription drug coverage gap, is an important step forward for the elderly.
In California alone, there are roughly 794,000 Medicare beneficiaries who take prescription medications, which cost the average senior about $4,000 each year.
"This agreement will help ease the burden for more than 794,000 Californian seniors, who will no longer have to worry that their prescription drug coverage won't be there when they need it most," said Boxer.
The U.S. government says there are five ways to lower a senior's costs during the coverage gap: switching to generic drugs, exploring national and community-based charitable programs, looking into pharmaceutical assistance programs, researching state assistance programs and applying for extra help from Social Security.
Research results reveal that seniors who have difficulty paying for their prescriptions are more likely to skip doses or stop taking their medication, which could lead to more serious health problems and an increase in care costs.
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