It seems logical that customers buying prescription drugs with insurance should pay less than if they pay the entire cost themselves. But sometimes, that is not the case, and patients end up unknowingly paying more if they use insurance.
"Pharmacists I talk to are very upset about this, because they see where patients are paying more for this medicine than they should," said Todd Brown, executive director of the Massachusetts Independent Pharmacists Association and vice chairman of the department of pharmacy at Northeastern University.
A bill pending before the Massachusetts Legislature would require pharmacists to tell customers if the cost for paying in cash would be less than their insurance co-pay.
"Most people are under the understanding that the purpose of using insurance to purchase anything that's health care related should result in a lower price for them," said Sen. Jim Welch, D-West Springfield, Senate chairman of the Committee on Health Care Financing. "That's what insurance is all about."
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
I often go to walmart and say I have no insurance and get it for $4. I thought you automatically got the lower price. At least that's what Apple Claims. Ridiculous that there has to be a law .
ReplyDeleteInsurance companies seem to be making all the money. We just got an invoice from the insurance company about a doctor's office visit. We have Carefirst and the doctor billed them 95 dollars for the visit. Since the doctor is a participating provider they only get paid so much no matter how much they bill the insurance. Carefirst allotted them 49 dollars for the office visit. Of that 49 dollars we paid 40 dollars as the copay. So the insurance basically only paid 10% of the bill even though we pay hundreds of dollars a month in premiums.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 9:56. I have CareFirst Blue Cross but I go to Walmart and tell them I don't have insurance. The copay on CareFirst is ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteJust ask. Is that so hard?
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't have to ask!! Jake st like buying a car these professions should give you the best prices available building a trust and recurring patronage
ReplyDeleteI was prescribed a RX and went to Apple Drugs. They ran it through my insurance (United Health) to check the price and it would have been $160 more than Apple's cash price. Of course, Apple told me their price so I saved money, but it shouldn't be legal for the insurance to charge more.
ReplyDelete