Comment: Good news, fellow serfizens! Obamacare has both increased total number of people with subsidized-or-free Obamacarp insurance, increased drug spending, and at the same time decreased the number of people who can afford their medicines (even with insurance)! Most cost, less access, YES WE CAN!
“The 2014 spending growth was somewhat restrained by insurers’ efforts to hold down their costs. Insurance companies increasingly have been shifting patients into plans that include high copayments for medicines, as well as large deductibles that must be met before insurance coverage kicks in.”
“IMS said that led to more prescriptions being abandoned at the pharmacy counter by patients who couldn’t afford their portion of the cost. That ultimately resulted in 8.4 million fewer prescriptions being filled at retail pharmacies in 2014, compared to 2013, by patients who were commercially insured, either through their employer or a new health exchange plan.”
IMS: US prescription drug spending jumped 13 pct. in 2014
By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Apr 14, 11:09 AM EDT
AP Business Writer