skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Drug Rebates Linked to Rising Prescription Drug Costs

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 26, 2021   

DENVER -- The costs of prescription drugs continue to rise in Colorado and across the U.S., according to a new report from the Center for Improving Value in Health Care.

Cari Frank, vice president for communications at the Center, said the data suggests the rebates drug manufacturers offer to insurance companies, to defray the cost of certain medicines, may actually be contributing to higher spending levels.

"Drug rebates for prescription drugs are also rising," Frank pointed out. "And especially in both the brand and specialty drug arena, which are the most high-cost spending that we see in the state."

Prescription drug costs have become the fastest-rising health care expense in the U.S., and account for nearly one in every five dollars spent on health care in Colorado.

Drugmakers and insurance companies have defended rebates as an important tool to contain costs, but Frank countered it is difficult to know whether those savings are being passed along to employers and consumers.

Frank worried rebates could be providing an incentive for doctors to write prescriptions for higher-cost name-brand and specialty drugs, simply because they end up on insurers' preferred list of drugs covered.

"If they are actually using it to lower premiums, then that's terrific," Frank acknowledged. "But again, that's why we need more transparency around exactly how that transaction of rebate dollars fits into setting premiums and paying for prescription drugs."

Colorado lawmakers recently passed a bill requiring insurance payers to report rebates on specific medicines to a new Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which Frank said will help define where costs are rising and why.

Frank added patients can also help bring down costs. While some medicines are only available by their brand name, many have generic versions that are just as effective.

"It's not always possible to get a generic," Frank noted. "But definitely be asking your doctor, 'Can we please consider using the generic,' to lower overall costs for both patients and the health plans that are paying for it."

Disclosure: Center for Improving Value in Health Care contributes to our fund for reporting on Consumer Issues, and Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021