One Woman’s Plight: She Can’t Afford Medication

In recent years, the escalating cost of medication has propelled increasing numbers of Americans into the ranks of the underinsured.

That’s the situation in which Marian Kellogg, a 66-year-old widow who lives in Ogdensburg, N.Y., finds herself.

On paper, Kellogg has a lot of insurance. In addition to Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance program for the elderly, she has a private “Medigap” insurance policy and belongs to a discount prescription drug program. Even so, she spends $177 every month on prescription drugs and $66 on insurance premiums; these expenses consume about 44% of her monthly $600 Social Security check, her sole source of income.

Kellogg has a number of disabling illnesses, including angina, diabetes and high blood pressure. Every day, she tries to determine which of nine medications prescribed by her doctor she can do without. “One day I’ll skip this one, the next day I’ll skip that one,” she said.

“I just can’t afford to take everything I’m supposed to,” she said. “I can’t ask my family for help. . . . They’re as poor as I am.” Her doctor doesn’t know she can’t afford to take all the medication he prescribes. Said Kellogg, “I’m too embarrassed to tell him.”