NPR’s Planet Money Podcast: Clipping Coupons For Health Care
Planet Money starts to dive into branded vs generic drug pricing, the insurance industry’s view on the pricing, the pharma industry’s view on the insurance industry’s view, and what that means for you when you’re standing at the drug store with a prescription in hand. It’s a little counter-intuitive.
Co-pays for prescription drugs are one of the ways health insurance companies try to contain costs. They make the generic cheaper than the brand name for you, the consumer, so you’ll chose the drug they have to pay less for.
It’s been a pretty effective system for years, but now the drug companies have come up with a way to get around it. They’re handing out “co-pay assistance cards,” which are basically like coupons for prescription drugs. They offer you up to $50 off the co-pay of a particular brand name drug, making the brand name effectively cheaper than the generic.
It may sound like a great deal for consumers, but John Rockoff, who reported the story for the Wall Street Journal, says the coupons come with some hidden costs.
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Tags: economics, generics, healthcare, insurance, pharmaceutical industry, prescriptions