Americans are Surprised by High Rx Costs, But We Rarely Talk to Pharmacists About Options

If you’ve visited your pharmacy to pick up a prescription and been surprised (not in a good way) by the cost, you are not alone.

A new survey of 2,000 American consumers finds 75% have been surprised by the cost of a prescription. Yet, the same survey finds most of us (74%) have never discussed our financial challenges with our doctor or pharmacist.

The survey also finds:

• More than half (56%) don’t research drug prices or cost-saving alternatives, such as generics.
• Nearly half (54%) have never compared prices across major retailers, such as Walmart, Costco or Walgreens.
• 55% rarely ask questions about their medications and, of those, 21% don’t ask for any information at all.
• 30% have chosen not to pick up a prescription due to cost, travel distance or long wait times.

The survey was conducted online by Lumicera Health Services. Respondents were 57% women and 43% men.

“Our survey reveals an opportunity to improve medication affordability through better patient-pharmacist dialogue,” said Ben Heiser, general manager of specialty pharmacy at Lumicera. “When patients don’t bring up cost concerns, they miss access to assistance programs, generic alternatives and other resources pharmacists can connect them with. This silence can affect both affordability and medication adherence.” What about you? Have you ever discussed your cost concerns with your pharmacist? How did it go? Share your story with Voices for Affordable Health.