Costs are always a concern with employee-sponsored health plans, and the price of rare and expensive drugs for serious diseases are a big reason why health care expenses in Deer Park and other U.S. cities are increasing. These costs are as troubling to consumers as they are to health care providers, and have even turned into a rallying cry for some presidential candidates, as the New York Times noted last year.
Not only is it becoming increasingly harder for employees to pay the increased drug costs, but more people are being asked to take on additional expense for buying prescription drugs, even if they are insured. Last year, a survey from The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation asked people to identify health issues they thought should be top priorities for the President and Congress. The top two concerns of respondents related to prescription drugs. Far-and-away the top concern was the affordability of specialty drugs for chronic illness, such as HIV.
Next, on the list was the government’s need to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. Another 2015 survey from Kaiser found that 43 percent of respondents or a family member had a) skipped doses of medicine or b) declined to fill a prescription in the last year due to the cost of the medicine.
With the price for health escalating, everyone is searching for answers. Transparent pricing and putting more pressure on drugmakers to try and justify these higher costs are some of the solutions under consideration. With the expansion of the Affordable Care Act came the hope that these rising drug prices would dampen, but not enough has changed to buck these trends.
The Plexus Groupe can work with you to develop more cost-effective strategies for incorporating specialty drugs into an employee sponsored health plan. For more information, visit us on the Web at plexusgroupe.com, or contact us at 847-307-6100 (Chicago) or 972-770-5010 (Dallas/Oklahoma).
