New Analysis Shows Out-of-Pocket Spending Based on List Price

New analysis from Amundsen Consulting, a division of QuintilesIMS, shows that more than half of commercially insured patients’ out-of-pocket spending for brand medicines is based on full list prices. Even though rebates paid by biopharmaceutical companies can substantially reduce the prices insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) pay for brand medicines, insurers use list prices—rather than discounted prices—to determine how much to charge patients with deductibles and coinsurance. The newly released data show cost sharing for nearly one in five brand prescriptions filled in the commercial market is based on the list price. Robust negotiations between biopharmaceutical companies and health plans result in significant rebates and discounts. According to a recent study from the Berkeley Research Group, more than one-third of the list price for brand medicines is rebated back to payers and the supply chain. Private payers are also reportedly receiving rebates of between 30 percent and 55 percent for medicines to treat a number of conditions, including diabetes, asthma, high cholesterol and hepatitis C.  Unlike care received at an in-network hospital or physician’s office, negotiated discounts for medicines are not shared with patients with high deductibles or coinsurance. Providing access to discounted prices at the point-of-sale could dramatically lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs. For example, a patient in a h...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs