United Healthcare Will Pass Drug Rebates To Consumers

What’s the story?

The price that most consumers pay for prescription drugs, the list price, is not the price that their insurer pays. Insurers negotiate rebates from drug manufacturers to lower their costs, yet largely don’t pass those savings onto consumers. Until now.

United Healthcare is the first major insurer to announce that they will pass savings from those rebates directly onto their enrollees. According to the Washington Post, "UnitedHealthcare announced yesterday it will pass on rebates on prescription drugs directly to the 7 million people enrolled in its fully insured employer plans."

The move echoes a call in the administration’s most recent budget to make the passing of rebates directly to consumers mandatory for all insurers.

The 7 million people who will be effected is a small percentage of the total number that United Healthcare, the largest private insurer in the country, insures overall. Still, the move is being heralded both by drug manufacturers and consumer advocates as a significant step in the right direction.

University of Chicago health economist Rena Conti stated, "I think patients — particularly those struggling with very high deductibles and costs associated with prescription drugs or high co-insurance rates associated with very high price drugs — stand to benefit significantly from this announcement."

What do you think?

Is this good news for you as a United Healthcare enrollee? Should this practice spread to other insurers? Do efforts like this improve the healthcare landscape significantly enough to make the current system workable, or are other changes needed? What changes to our healthcare system do you want to see?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Images Money via Flickr / Creative Commons)