EXCERPT: “It’s National Farm Safety And Health Week, and today is focused on the rural opioid epidemic and mental health. For some farmers and ranchers, the rising cost of prescription drugs only worsens the rural healthcare challenge. Research by AARP found the average older American takes 4.5 prescription drugs, typically on a persistent basis, and 72 percent say they are concerned about finding affordable medications. With one-third of U.S. farmers over the age of 65, AARP Oklahoma state director Sean Voskuhl says the impacts are felt more in rural America . . . The Rural Policy Research Institute reports Independent, rural pharmacies are struggling to survive due to declining rural populations, and high prescription costs driving consumers away or elsewhere. Voskuhl says the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs is leading more and more Americans to ignore their doctors orders when it comes to how often and how much of their medicines they should be taking.” FULL STORY: http://bit.ly/2M3764Z
