To prepare, we're looking at some previously released facts on food security. Today, take a look back at this fact on hunger in America: Weâve addressed the recessionâs impact on poverty. Hunger is directly related. Nearly 15 percent of U.S. households were defined as âfood insecureâ in 2011. That means they skipped meals, cut back on the quality and quantity of food, or relied on emergency sources. Food insecurity spiked as the recession took hold in 2007 and has not receded. Minority households were more than twice as likely to be food insecure as white families. 57 percent of food insecure households said they relied on at least one of the three biggest federal food programs â SNAP (food stamps), WIC (aid to low-income women, infants and children), and reduced-cost or free school lunches.
The drugs in question, Repatha and Praluent, currently cost more than $14,000 per year, and because millions of Americans have high cholesterol, costs could be overwhelming, The New York Times reported.
Senator Bernie Sanders held a senate hearing to look into rising generic drug prices. Rob Frankil, a pharmacist and member of the National Community Pharmacists Association, testified that one patient accused him of price gouging after his heart failure medication went up from $15 to $120 for a 90-day supply. That's an increase of 800 [percent], Frankil told the lawmakers. A January survey of 1,000 NCPA members found that more than three-quarters of the pharmacists reported higher prices on more than 25 generic drugs, with the prices spiking by 600 percent to 2,000 percent in certain cases.