Advocacy Group Says Uninsured Pay Higher Cost For Prescriptions

The North Carolina Public Interest Research Group released a survey Tuesday, which showed 1.5 million North Carolinians pay far more for prescription drugs than the rest of society.

The group said that the uninsured pay 58 percent more for medicine in Raleigh than people with insurance do. The NC-PIRG called for more availability of generic drugs, as well as government initiatives to reduce costs.

The liberal advocacy group and other state public interest groups across the country surveyed more than 600 pharmacies in 35 cities, including Raleigh, to determine how much uninsured consumers pay for commonly used prescription drugs.

Those figures were then compared with prices that pharmaceutical companies charge the federal government, as well as what those same drugs would cost if purchased from Canadian pharmacies.