Prescription drug costs continue to be a major driver of health insurance costs. While the huge spikes in the cost of some drugs, like the EpiPen, are well known, drug costs continue to rise due to extremely high initial pricing, unpredictable price hikes, and efforts to dissuade the use of more cost-efficient, quality alternatives such as generic medications.
NYSCOP supports measures aimed at addressing the impact drug costs are having on insurance premiums. These proposals include:
- Shedding light on how much drug manufacturers spend on researching, developing, producing and distributing drugs compared to the billions of dollars spent on marketing, advertising, and promotional efforts such as co-pay coupons;
- Understanding how much profit drug companies are making on the various products; and
- Restoring tools that allow health plans to ensure consumers are using effective, affordable drugs to counteract aggressive marketing of unnecessary, high-cost drugs.
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Other policy issues:
Taxes
Hidden state taxes on private health insurance are directly increasing the price of premiums.
hospital costs
Hospital systems are increasing costs for services while trying to avoid transparency regulations.