Castellani: Health Law's Cost-Sharing Could Limit Patient Access To Prescription Drugs

Enrollees in some of the health law’s most popular plans will face high cost-sharing requirements that the pharmaceutical industry says could keep patients from getting the drugs they need.

Most silver plans in the online marketplaces, or exchanges, require patients to pay for prescription drugs as part of the plan’s deductible, while nearly all bronze plans do, according to a report from Breakaway Health prepared for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the drug industry’s trade group.

Silver plans that combine prescription and medical costs into one deductible — the out-of-pocket costs patients pay before coverage begins — have average deductibles of $2,275, and similar bronze plans have an average of $4,986, according to the report. The average amount for plans that have separate prescription drug deductibles is $470 for a silver plan and $956 for a bronze one.

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Source: Kaiser Health News