President Donald Trump called it a way for patients to find the lowest prices on prescription drugs, but TrumpRX is already receiving mixed reviews. TrumpRX is a direct-to-patient purchasing platform for medications.
If you’re looking around at the platform or ready to start using it, a prominent voice in American healthcare has a warning about two key aspects that could seriously impact your money.
How the Pricing Is Shown
Dr. William Soliman, CEO of Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs, said there are two important things you need to keep in mind before paying out of pocket for a drug you’ve been denied.
The first concern, Dr. Soliman said, surrounds how TrumpRX shows the list price of a drug and then shows the amount you’d pay through the program.
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“It gives a percentage difference but that can be misleading because once you’ve met your insurance deductible, you will end up paying much less through insurance than you would paying monthly without insurance,” he added.
Comparing a discount card price to a drug’s list price can exaggerate the savings, according to Dr. Soliman. “Most insured patients don’t pay list price. After meeting their deductible, they may pay a small copay that’s significantly lower than the cash discount price.”
Impacts on Deductibles
Secondly, payments on the platform don’t count toward their deductible, which Dr. Soliman said is another key aspect that could impact personal finances.
“So long term this may not be sustainable if you’re on many drugs, which many older Americans are,” he said. “If a patient has insurance and has already met their deductible, they might only pay a $25 copay for that same medication. In that case, paying $100 through a cash discount program would actually cost four times more than using their insurance.”
Per Dr. Soliman, this comes just as seniors on Medicare Advantage are seeing their prescriptions denied.
“They’re being told to use a coupon to buy their medications direct-to-consumer instead,” he added. “TrumpRx is a marketplace for those purchases. This might look like a great solution but may not be long term.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 2 Key Aspects of TrumpRX That Could Impact Your Money
