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Patients assail insurer shift on costly medicines

Five patient advocacy groups released a study showing that 60 percent of mid-level plans on health exchanges placed multiple sclerosis and cancer drugs on tiers with the highest level of co-payments.

By Alex Wayne | Updated on June 11, 2014
(Bloomberg) — Five patient advocacy groups for diseases including cancer and AIDS urged the U.S. to force Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act insurers to lower co-payments on costly drugs, saying some plans discriminate against people with serious illness.

Representatives of the groups, which acknowledged receiving funding from pharmaceutical companies, spoke today at an event organized by the industry’s Washington-based lobbyists. That group released a study showing that 60 percent of mid-level plans on the new health exchanges placed multiple sclerosis and cancer drugs on tiers with the highest level of co-payments, in many cases requiring 30 percent of the price or more.

See also: PPACA spurs Merck, Glaxo to cut co-pay help

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