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Impact of Government Price Setting Policies on Patient Access & Affordability

How do Upper Payment Limits (UPLs) affect patients in real life?

The example below shows why UPLs may not improve affordability for a patient with a flat copay or coinsurance.

In this scenario, a drug’s reimbursement is capped through a UPL, reducing what the health plan pays. However, patient cost-sharing often stays the same because insurers generally are not required to pass those savings on to patients.

In the coinsurance example, the patient is paying a percentage of the drug’s cost after the Upper Payment Limit is applied. Even though the reimbursement amount is reduced, the patient is still responsible for a percentage of a very high price. As a result, the patient’s out-of-pocket cost can remain unaffordable, despite the payment cap or UPL.

 

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