My doctor switched to a lower tier drug, Jardiance. That, to my surprise, wasn’t $450. So, for two months I am no longer taking it. The Mounjaro is $450 per month, but it has seriously made my life better, so I find a way to earn enough with Uber to pay it. My retirement pension is $2,200 per month. My medications per month are nearly half that. There is no way I will make it when I am too old to drive. I am tired all the time.

We have had great insurance, but more and more, we have to pay more on prescriptions, and often, must decide if I will have to do without. I am so thankful for insurance, yet so often, the copay, deductible, etc. are unbearable. It is so hard to decide if I have to do without [prescriptions] completely!

However, three of my prescriptions cost me over $200 a month. I can't afford that, so I cut my dosage in half so it lasts longer. I am on Medicare with a supplement which is also $133 a month and has a large deductible. In total, it is all over one-quarter of my Social Security. With mortgage and utilities, I have very little left for groceries and nothing for savings.

Tried Metformin on its own and my A1C went way up. I am a benefit's advocate for GE retirees, and this is an ongoing issue with many drugs. Insulin, inhalers and other meds remain at their highest. You retire and have a fixed income, and retirees are taking 1/2 doses or taking their meds every other day in many cases.

I have to take insulin four times a day. Sometimes I skip [because] the cost is outrageous.

I have several chronic illnesses that require expensive medications. One of those is Type 1 diabetes which requires two types of insulin to live; even a week without it would put my body into ketoacidosis which would quickly cause kidney failure and lead to death soon after. Even the insulins that have been around for many years and their generics are $300-$500 per box. Now multiply that by two, because I require a long-acting insulin and a short- acting insulin. A huge thing I don’t understand is why insulin would cost hundreds still, when it’s common sense that the research companies, investors, and inventor have long been paid back for their time, money, and resources as well as huge profits. So why are they taking from those of us who are barely treading water and are just trying to stay alive literally? I would imagine their original goal in developing these drugs was to “help people” not to “get rich while hurting people.” 

I have never been in the Medicare Part D donut hole before, and have been taking the same drug for over 4 years…no one has been able to explain this huge jump.

I have epilepsy. I am on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). I take 3 medications, one of which doesn't have a generic yet. The patent doesn't expire until 2022. It costs me $800 for a 3-month supply, after paying  $1200 for my first 3-month supply of the year because of my $400 deductible. Another one of the meds I take is over 100 years old: Phenobarbital. It dates back to 1914. When my husband had a nice insurance plan I paid $3.96 for a 90-day supply. Now on Medicare, I pay anywhere between $50 to $114 for a 90-day supply. The stuff is cheaper than aspirin and here I am paying this amount of money for it. I don't make a lot of money on SSDI. I'm unable to work because I can't concentrate well enough these days and these meds also have horrible side effects that make me short-tempered. They also make me tired since they're sedatives. But the problem with the high prices of meds is out of control on every level. I don't care if you're rich or poor, Why are there so many levels in the prescription drug supply chain? 

Medications are way too expensive and the sad part is some rely on their medications to survive. It’s extremely difficult and painful to watch or hear about this. 

I had my first heart attack, and I am having to spend over $500 a month to take the cardiac medications I require. Some of these drugs are not new ones; they have been around for over 25 years. They used to cost very little. 

I’ve had to cut out needed medications because of the high cost. Even with insurance, I just can’t afford them because I am on a limited income.

I can tell you that my mother’s medicine went up for diabetes, so she had to stop taking it. It tripled in price. I stopped using an inhaler because I could not afford it. They just keep raising the prices of prescription drugs so people can’t afford them. 

I have IBS and need an antispasmodic (Donnatal). Its generic is no longer being manufactured, so Donnatal now costs $5/pill. How do I budget for that?

Six years ago, I began cutting doses of four non-generics for diabetes in half or not refilling in order to afford four Tier 4 scripts. I don't have to remind anyone with diabetes on Medicare the obscene costs of brand name insulin and oral medications. My husband and I shop frugally, and there's nowhere else to cut. 

I just ordered a three-month supply that cost me $571.35. I have hit the Medicare coverage gap and it isn't even a full three months into the year. That is over half of my income. That is the price with insurance. What am I supposed to do if I can’t breathe?

Luckily, I discovered Humira, a shot that could keep down inflammation and ease my bone deterioration. I received Humira for $5, with insurance. With my pain managed, I could spend time with my family and friends, my arthritis no longer dominating my life.

But then the price went up. Way up.

When I switched to Medicare, the cost became $10,000 a year. That was $2,000 for a single prescription or a $1,995 difference between insurers. How is that possible?

I wrote the manufacturer, applied for assistance, but nothing worked, so I stopped taking the drug. My bones became weak and crippled. My life was no longer my own and to this day, I still don’t know why.