Golden: Prescription Drug Prices Now Required To Be Posted Online In New York State

Brooklyn- State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn), Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, is announcing that legislation that requires prescription drug prices to be posted online to give consumers easy access to the drug price list, allowing them to electronically comparison shop for prescription drugs on the Internet in an effort to save money, has become New York State Law.

"People who have no prescription drug coverage must pay the highest prices to obtain their medicines," said Senator Marty Golden. "New York law now requires pharmacies to produce a weekly updated prescription drug price list and makes copies available to consumers. It would further help consumers if they could review these prices on the web, enabling them to locate nearby pharmacies and allow them to comparison shop from the comfort of their home, office or local library. This new law has made Internet shopping for prescription drugs a reality here in New York State."

"AARP commends the leadership and dedication of Senator Golden in getting this landmark legislation passed," said Lois Aronstein, AARP New York State Director. "This new law provides a valuable tool to help New Yorkers who are struggling with high costs find the best prices on their drugs at their local pharmacies."

This new law, which is the first of its kind in the entire nation, requires pharmacies to provide the same list electronically each week to the Department of Health, who will make the prices available on their web site. Signs will now be posted in pharmacies notifying consumers that the price list is online and the address of the web site. The web site will be searchable by zip code and other factors.