HR 266 Summary

• Recognizes March 18, 2014, as Medication Adherence Day at the Alabama State Capitol.

• Poor medication adherence is a national problem affecting nearly 45 percent of the U.S. population with chronic conditions, with one in three people never filling prescriptions and three out of four Americans not taking medication as directed.

• Poor medication adherence results in 125,000 deaths annually in the U.S. and costs the health system an estimated $300 billion per year, while linked to 23 percent of nursing home admissions and 69 percent of medication-related hospital admissions.

• For every dollar spent on medication adherence, medical costs would be reduced by $7 for diabetes patients, $5.10 for high cholesterol patients, and $3.98 for high blood pressure patients.

• Urges all Alabamians to take their medication as directed to reduce heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and untimely deaths from untreated chronic diseases.