Director's Message

Nov. 10, 2006

To: All DHS employees

From: Bruce Goldberg, Director

You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give."

~Winston Churchill

This week had me thinking about a lot about prescription drugs. Why? Because, not only was it an election issue, but also because the issues surrounding pharmaceuticals are emblematic of many of our struggles. First, there is great need. Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians cannot afford medications and therefore go without them, suffering needlessly. Second, there is injustice. Those the least able to afford prescription drugs often pay more for their medicines than those of us who have medical insurance. And finally, there is great opportunity to create innovative solutions to this problem. 

This past Tuesday Oregonians overwhelmingly passed Ballot Measure 44. As a result, an estimated 1 million individuals who do not have prescription drug coverage now will be able to participate in the state's discount prescription drug program. 

The result of this vote expands a program Oregon launched a couple of years ago that lets the state negotiate with drug manufacturers for reduced prices of prescription drugs. The savings so far have allowed the state to offer discounts of up to 60 percent on the cost of some prescription drugs to program participants.

Participation in the program until now has been limited to a relatively small number of Oregonians -- individuals who are at least 55 years of age, who have been without drug coverage for at least six months, and who have a yearly income of less than $18,130. Approximately 4,000 Oregonians have qualified to participate in the program. Now those discounts will apply to anyone without drug coverage.

This is an excellent step forward in securing smart, cost-effective access to medical care for all Oregonians. There is more to be done, of course, and I hope to see progress in the coming year on addressing the high costs of prescription drugs. As the costs of prescription drugs increase, individuals -- whether insured or not -- pay a larger share of their income for medicine. In addition, DHS and other agencies that provide medicine for clients have no choice but to reduce services, because we must devote an ever-bigger share of our budgets to pay for prescription drugs. This doesn't benefit individuals in need and it doesn't benefit taxpayers.

Last year Governor Kulongoski asked the Heinz Family Philanthropies to help us solve this problem. They recently provided the state with a blueprint for how, through smart purchasing and smart policy, we can reduce our expenditures on prescription drugs while improving the quality of our medication prescribing. 

This past week I convened a group of agency heads to begin to implement that work. The first of those steps has just been given a major boost by the passage of Ballot Measure 44 -- pooling the state's purchasing power. By leveraging the state's purchasing power, Oregon can reduce the amount spent by agencies on prescription drugs. This in turn can enable the state to expand prescription drug coverage to more individuals in need and at the same time reduce the costs to taxpayers.

I'll keep you posted on our progress.

To provide feedback email: DHS.Directorsoffice@state.or.us