Retail vs. Copay Prescription Costs
It’s often cheaper to pay a pharmacy’s retail drug price than your insurance plan’s copay. Pharmacies (per the PBM’s instructions) often charge customers their plan’s copay amount, even when it’s above the pharmacy’s retail price. This is called a Zero Balance Due Claim in the industry, but it should be redefined as PBMs’ “Dirty Little Secret!”
To learn more about the retail vs. copay issue, check out the following articles:
- “Are You Overcharged for Your Prescriptions?”, The Independent Pharmacist
- “Got Health Insurance? Why You May Want To Pay Cash Anyway”, Huffington Post
- “Medications: What Your Pharmacist Won’t Tell You”, True Cost of Health-Care
- “Prescription Price Shell Game”, KARE 11
- “Buying Generic Medication? You Might Be Paying Too Much”, WRAL.com
