Prescriptions, prescriptions

I just went to the doctor and got three prescriptions filled at CVS afterward. I was reflecting on the price of drugs and how querulous both young and old people get when they are told how much a drug is going to cost. It so happens that I watched two women deal with their prescriptions while I waited.
First woman walks up and asks for her prescription. She looks to be between 70 and 80 years old, fairly well dressed (no worse than anyone else in the store in this upper-middle-class neighborhood), got a cart full of stuff and so forth. Immediately upon being handed the prescription she complains about the price.
Now look. I have a 75-year-old widowed mother who is on a limited income (although it’s not a horrible income since she was a teacher for over 30 years, and she’s still got insurance), so I understand the concept of pinching pennies and stomping with both feet on every lost 25-cent-off coupon. (My wife is no slouch at that either and she’s nowhere near 75.) So I figure right off the bat that this prescription must be $50 or $60, or even more. Then I hear:
“It’s nine dollars and fifty-three cents, ma’am.”
“That’s more than it used to be, isn’t it?”
(Now I’m thinking: What? How much more could it be? Did it used to be five bucks, or practically free?)
“Yes, ma’am, it is. I can check to see what you paid for it last month if you’d like.” (She does. Understand that this entire conversation is friendly, there’s nobody upset here at all.) “It was $8.99 last month.”
“So it did go up.”
“Yes, and in fact it was supposed to go up last month, but we made a mistake and charged you the old price.”
Now I’m really staring wide-eyed. The whole price of the prescription went up 54 cents and she’s complaining? Less than two cents a day?
Man. Let’s get a senior prescription entitlement going right away. I’d hate like hell to see someone miss out on a couple of quarter gumballs a week because they had to pay for prescription drugs.
Now let’s face it; I know that’s not the norm. Dad was getting most of his drugs at the VA because they were practically free compared to getting them at CVS, and he had an expensive little pharmacopia before he died. But please. There are drug discount programs left and right even if you don’t have insurance that covers prescriptions. The drug companies even have their own programs for people who can’t otherwise afford expensive drugs. Naturally these programs are not ballyhooed; the pharmaceutical companies always end up as the heavy because they are trying to make those evil profits so they can … can … well … invent new drugs that will save people’s lives, I guess.
The second woman (remember her?) was probably my age, well-dressed, drove a nice car (I assume from her ring of keys), married, nice expensive rock on her finger, etc. Her prescription was $50.
“It’s $50. Do you want it?”
“No, take it back. Not at that price.”
This woman could probably buy and sell me. (Well…if I weren’t married she could buy me. Might be harder to sell me.)
“Your insurance has been doing this a lot lately. Maybe you need to call them and ask about alternatives that they may have in their formulary for this particular drug.”
“Yes, I think I’ll do that.”
I don’t know what the prescription was but given that she didn’t want it at $50, I wonder if she really needed it at all. Personally when I get sick and I need a drug to make it better, $50 is a drop in the bucket, and I’m not rich by any stretch of the imagination. But it did get me thinking about whether or not we really need a prescription drug entitlement. Like most entitlements, I suspect we could get along without it.
My three prescriptions were $31 total, for what it’s worth, after BC/BS paid their share.