Comment by pkaye
3 days ago
Basically the drug manufacturer charges the insurer high prices then kicks back some of that to cover your out of pocket costs so you are individually better off but the system is worse off. Most countries solve this by the government negotiating with the drug manufacturer for everyone and refusing to cover it until they get a reasonable price.
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/drug-companies-copay-...
That’s the coupon scheme which is a bit different. The discount programs I’m talking about make deals with pharmacy benefits managers which are middlemen between pharmacies and drug companies. Part of the agreement between the pharmacy and PBMs is that the pharmacy must honor discounts with companies like GoodRx even though it means they could be losing money on the sale.
I’d like to learn more about these PBMs and how they have so much power and what their purpose is.
Thanks for the clarification. From this link looks like another middleman that negotiates discounts with drug makers for insurers then marks it up. I'm curious who makes more profit. The PBM or the drug manufacturer.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/070215/what-ph...