It isn’t breaking news to say that medicine is expensive. In fact, pharmaceuticals are so expensive that 27 percent of Americans don’t fill their prescriptions due to cost. Yet in many cases, patients could have filled their prescriptions for less than they were told. Policymakers often talk about drug price transparency and reporting requirements, but real transparency means telling patients when they have a cheaper option to fill the same prescription. Without that, patients are left in the dark, not knowing when they are overpaying for their medicine.
State-level pharmaceutical transparency laws often require drug manufacturers to report the acquisition cost of their products to Prescription Drug Affordability Boards. While that information may help insurance companies and regulators, it is irrelevant to patients. Patients don’t deal with acquisition costs; they deal with retail prices and co-pays.
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Justin Leventhal is a senior policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal.