Amid efforts to blunt rising medicines costs, a new analysis finds three states succeeded in helping their residents save money by capping out-of-pocket costs on pricey specialty drugs and, at the same time, also managed to avoid increased spending by health plans.
Overall, out-of-pocket spending by patients fell $351 per month in Delaware, Maryland, and Louisiana, each of which passed laws that set $150 caps on what consumers must pay for prescriptions for specialty medicines. These include medications to combat such hard-to-treat maladies as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and hepatitis C, among others.
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Once a patient reaches the cap, which entity absorbes the loss from the reduced co-pay contribution?
I don’ know – but I am guessing the insurers just get less out-of-pocket money from patients.