I want to quickly note that on this blog we’ve covered the effect of drug copayments on patients’ adherence to drug regimens:
- Many people in the US do not fill prescriptions due to cost, even when they’re insured (follow the links within this post).
- Even small increases in copayments can lead to reductions in medication use.
- Increased drug cost-sharing has led to increases in ED use and hospitalization, particularly for the elderly.
It’s the last point that leads naturally to the consideration of value-based insurance design. It’s completely reasonable to consider such an approach for childhood asthma (for which cost-sharing is a documented issue), as well as other medications and therapies.
