Out-of Pocket Costs More Important Than Drug Rise
The Wall Street Journal, Steve Collis
While the article “Drug Prices Climb By 5.8%” (Page One, Jan. 3) points to the complexities behind pharmaceutical drug pricing, the real issue is rising patient out-of-pocket costs owing to insufficient benefit design.
When you compare individual cost sharing for hospital care versus outpatient medications, you can see the problem. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data for 2018 show that U.S. spending on hospital care was more than $1 trillion compared with $335 billion for outpatient prescription drugs.
For the full op-ed from CEO Steve Collis, visit The Wall Street Journal.