We take a look into the world of health care prices.
With the ever-increasing prices of prescription drugs comes the disgruntlement of the general public. The recent health care concerns have been so highlighted that even President Trump has vowed to do something about it. Even so, it is unclear as to why prices have been rising, and to whom the blame falls upon.
The New York Times and ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, took matters into their own hands to hear about just some of the stories about high drug costs. Among others, a counterintuitive story cropped up, claiming that some insurance companies were requiring patients to take brand-name drugs, refusing to cover generic alternatives, even when that meant that the patient would have to pay more out of pocket.
A woman from Texas told the reporters that the company that manages her drug benefits was going to start asking her to pay more out of pocket for Butrans, a painkiller that contains the drug buprenorphine. As a lower cost alternative, the drug company suggested she try painkillers like OxyContin, despite this drug carrying a higher risk of abuse and dependence. The lady was upset by this, saying that the main point of pain management is to take the least amount of medication possible to manage the pain.
Unfortunately, cases like this are not rare and are only contributing to the opioid crisis. A spokesman for UnitedHealthcare said that it is taking the crisis seriously, and wants to continue to ensure that people with chronic pain get the appropriate treatment that they need.
Insurers say that they are doing their part by placing limits on new prescriptions for addictive painkillers, and that they are also doing more to monitor doctors’ prescribing patterns and to catch abuse by patients. Several insurers said they had seen declines in monthly opioid prescriptions, a sign of progress.
Investigations and reporters continue to highlight and search for the truth around why drug prices are rising.
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