States Can Help Lower Medicine Costs for Patients

Medicine costs for patients have spiked in the past few years, especially for patients with deductibles who often pay the list price for drugs their insurers are compensated for. In a recent PhRMA article, Scott LaGanga recommends several methods by which state legislatures can reduce medicine costs for patients. He suggests that rebates, coupons, and discounts actually benefit patients, not just payers. In addition, he recommends cheaper, more predictable solutions.

According to LaGanga, “Actual spending on medicines is growing at the slowest rate in years. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel that way for patients. Insurers are increasingly using high deductibles and coinsurance that result in patients paying more for certain medicines out of pocket. Patients should have more choices when it comes to their medicine coverage. Every state should require health insurers to offer at least some health plan options that exclude medicines from the deductible and offer set copay amounts instead of forcing patients to pay an amount based on the full list price of their medicines.”

Read the entire article by clicking here.

(Source: PhRMA, January 26^th, 2022)