PBS News writes of a study published in March by the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, that found insurance copays are higher than the cost of the drug about 25 percent of the time. USC researchers analyzed 9.5 million prescriptions filled during the first half of 2013. They compared the copay amount to what the pharmacy was reimbursed for the medication and found in the cases where the copay was higher, the overpayments averaged $7.69, totaling $135 million that year.
Read more:
- PBS News: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/why-a-patient-paid-a-285-copay-for-a-40-drug
- Overpaying for prescription drugs: The copay clawback phenomenon. USC Schaeffer. March 2018 (PDF)