The benefits of copayments are they can lead to less waste and lower drug prices. But they are also causing elderly Americans to put off filling prescriptions until their Social Security checks arrive, according to new research. And that can result in sicker patients and higher care costs. Three steps can allow insurers to retain the benefits of copayments and reduce their downside: make some drug prescriptions entirely free, and identifying and then helping the patients most likely to delay filling their prescriptions.
Copayments cause many elderly Americans to put off filling prescriptions until their Social Security checks arrive. That’s the central finding of research Timothy J. Layton, Daniel Prinz, and I recently conducted. Even a copay of as little as five dollars can lead some people to delay acquiring important drugs such as antidepressants, insulin, statins, and blood thinners. With that in mind, insurers ought to structure the copayments…
This article was written by Tal Gross and originally published on hbr.org