Three weeks ago I wrote about a study that showed that eye doctors prescribe more brand name medications than any other speciality. The study suggested that health care spending could decrease if more generic medications were written. This week, the New York Times wrote an article about patients being denied generic medications.
Here is the gist of the article.
Historically patients have been told to ask for generic medication in place of the name brand medication. However, recently some patients are finding their insurance company will not allow a generic option. The New York Times stated that almost 30% of Americans have high deductible insurance plans through their employers which means the patient ends up absorbing the increased cost. “They often have to pick up the full sticker price of medications until they have paid out thousands of dollars.”
Why wouldn’t insurance companies want patients to use generic medication?
The theory is that pharmaceutical companies are negotiating deals with insurers to give priority to their brand name drug.
More article details here.
