As patient share of meds cost rises, treatment and adherence declines
The cost of prescription drugs is a major topic of conversation amongst
Migraineurs and other patients who need prescription medications. Even
for those who have insurance that covers medications, the amount paid
by the patient has increased to consume a disproportionate amount of
patient income and has left many patients with difficult medical and
financial choices to make. Part of this phenomenon is coverage limits
that affect the number of doses of triptans that are covered per month,
a number that has recently been decreasing.
A review of previous studies indicates that an increase in prescription drug cost sharing is associated with a decrease in drug spending and use of pharmacies; and for some chronic conditions, higher cost sharing is associated with greater use of expensive medical services (doctor appointments, emergency care, hospitalization, etc.), according to an article in the July 4, 2007, issue of JAMA.
Read Increased Patient Share of Prescription Costs Negatively Impacts Drug Treatment and Adherence.
If you use triptans (Imitrex, Maxalt, Zomig, Amerge, Relpax, Axert,
Frova) and have insurance, you may very well have run into insurance
coverage limits on how many doses are covered per month. For quite some
time, the average seemed to be nine doses. Now, many insurance
companies are lowering the limits to 4-6 doses per month.
