CHPA Responds to Prescription Mandate Cost Implications Outlined in Oklahoma Economic Impact Study

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Consumer Healthcare Products Association

Feb 17, 2012, 02:54 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) today released the following statement regarding a new economic impact study that analyzed the potential economic consequences a prescription requirement for safe and effective cold and allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine (PSE) would have on the state of Oklahoma. The study was conducted by the Economic Impact Group, LLC, and funded by a grant provided by the CHPA.

Some of the study's most compelling findings include the following impacts of a prescription requirement:

An influx of more than 296,000 new doctor visits in Oklahoma, with costs reaching as much as $59 million in the state.
The productivity cost from missed days from work or school already accounts for an estimated $227 to $400 million from viral respiratory tract infections in Oklahoma. These costs would climb considerably under a prescription requirement.

"The economic impact study in Oklahoma quantified what we already knew to be true: a prescription requirement for popular and reliable over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines will lead to higher healthcare costs for responsible consumers, lower productivity for Oklahoma businesses, and lost tax revenues for the state," said Scott Melville, president and CEO, CHPA. "Effectively reducing meth production in Oklahoma is a critically important goal, but it's important that methods employed to achieve that goal do not burden law-abiding Oklahomans with significant and unnecessary costs."

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SOURCE Consumer Healthcare Products Association