The Wichita Eagle: Congress should not cut drug program

Via Christi and Ascension are embracing the transformation to new models of care designed to improve health outcomes at a lower cost. But a major obstacle to achieving this transformation is the astronomical price increases of prescription drugs.

Last year, according to the office of the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about $457 billion was spent on prescription drugs, accounting for 16.7 percent of overall personal health care services. Prescription medication prices are increasing far faster than any other aspect of health care. At Via Christi, we experienced a 3.7 percent increase in our drug spending last year. That means $750,000 less that we can invest in patient and community care.