Insurance companies charge patients more in co-pays than medicines actually cost, study finds

(Image credit: iStock.)

published 13 March 2018

You might be paying more in co-pays than your medication actually costs.

In a new study published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA, researchers found that out of the 9.5 million claims for prescription medication in 2013, insurance companies charged more than the base price for the drug in 2.2 million cases. Patients were overcharged for generic drugs 28 percent of the time, the study found, and for brand name drugs 6 percent of the time — for a grand total of $135 million in overpayments.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

The researchers also found that some pharmacists were barred from volunteering this price difference to patients by "gag clauses," Reuters reported. Though these contracts are outlawed in several states, the responsibility may still fall on patients to make sure they're getting the best price for their medication, as pharmacists can reveal any discrepancies if patients ask about pricing first. Read more about the study at Reuters.

Explore More

Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox