Prescription prices have skyrocketed in the past year, faster than the 8.5% rate of inflation
- Americans pay higher prices for prescription drugs than anywhere else in the world. US prices are more than 2.5 times higher than other high-income countries
- Disruptors, such as Amazon Pharmacy and Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, hope to create more competition and transparency
Mark Cuban’s “Cost Plus Drugs Co.” Strategy
Cost Plus Drugs, launched in early 2022, has a clear and simple price strategy, cost of the drug plus a 15% markup. They then add a $3 pharmacy fee and a $5 shipping charge.
Cost Plus Drugs offers about 350 drugs including the top 10 most prescribed generic drugs in the US. They also have many of the top 50 most often prescribed. Cost Plus is making it affordable to buy drugs without prescription insurance.
As an example, the Cost Plus Drug price for a generic oral chemotherapy treatment came down to $200/ year, a huge drop from the $10,000/month price tag for the brand-name Gleevec. This was even lower than the low $1,500 GoodRx price and without the need for a coupon.
Amazon Signs Deal With Health Plans
Amazon Pharmacy also continues to carve out an important piece of the retail pharmacy market. They want to make the online pharmacy experience simple and affordable.
Last week, it announced a deal that Florida Blue would use Amazon Pharmacy exclusively for its home delivery service in 2023.
Early in 2022, Amazon Pharmacy created a plan to introduce a prescription savings program with Prime Therapeutics and Blue Cross/Blue Shields in five states. The savings card could be used without insurance or with existing insurance coverage. These purchases could be used toward deductibles or out-of-pocket costs.
Both Access and Price Are Important
According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, over 25% of the US population say they cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions.
Lower cost options, along with dependable home delivery, can help more people stay healthy and compliant with their doctor’s orders. This is especially important for patients in at-risk populations and with chronic conditions.
A la Carte Trend On The Rise
There is an “a la carte” trend developing in health insurance because “one size fits all” choices aren’t enough. Organizations and individuals are looking for customized plans to fill their needs. If this trend continues, employers and health plans will switch their home delivery services to more innovative and better priced options.
[…] U.S. needs to solve its own drug pricing problem, and not rely on other countries to do it for them,” said Dr. Joel Lexchin, a professor […]
Competition always brings the best value for the consumers.