It is no secret that the prices of pharmaceuticals are unreasonably high, as are the profits of the companies that manufacture them. I had a very interesting conversation about drug costs with my friend, Breck Rice, owner of ServRX. He said that it is wasn’t until 2018 that pharmacies were able to share the self-pay price of medications with people who have health insurance coverage.
Most medications are quite affordable – sometimes cheaper than copays required by some insurance plans. I read an article about a woman whose copay for a 90-day supply of her medication was $285. A month after filling her prescription, she was planning a long-term trip and needed to stock up on her medications. Since the 90-days hadn’t passed, her insurance wouldn’t cover any additional refills. Her husband contacted their local Costco pharmacy and found the self-pay price was about $40. To me, this is a sign of how insurance companies are overpaying for prescription costs and in turn passing them down to their policyholders.
The article – Prescription Drug Statistics 2022 shares that about 66% of U.S. adults take prescription drugs and about 46% of U.S. adults have taken a prescription drug in the past 30 days. Think of the financial impact this has on health insurance premiums if they are being charged exorbitant prices. No wonder health insurance premiums are so high.
Those of you on the Philadelphia American Life health insurance coverage know that you have a fixed benefit for your prescriptions. In the first year of coverage, no benefits are available for medications taken before being covered. However, the resources below can help everyone keep their out-of-pocket costs down.
GoodRX – https://www.goodrx.com/
Drexi – https://drexi.com/welcome
CostPlus Drug Company – https://costplusdrugs.com/
Always ask the pharmacy for their self-pay prices first. It may have deeper discounts than the resources provided above. Regardless of what type of health insurance coverage you have, being an informed shopper when it comes to your healthcare costs makes good sense.
NOTE: PHILADELPHIA AMERICAN LIFE COVERAGE PROVIDES LIMITED BENEFITS FOR PRESCRIPTION COSTS. TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE CONTACT CINDY GORDON