Research Review

Wide Disparity Found in Drug Prices for Diabetes Patients

New research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that the price in New York and New Jersey of the medications most commonly prescribed for patients with diabetes varies widely depending on where you shop. Researchers found that the combined cost of a 30-day supply of the ten medications most used by diabetics varied from a low of $428.35 at Medco by Mail up to $641.90 at Rite Aid. The study is of out-of-pocket costs for people who do not have prescription drug insurance.
 
Ronald Tamler, MD, PhD, MBA, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology and diabetes, and Clifton Jackness, MD, of the internal medicine department at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, compiled a list of the ten medications most often prescribed to patients aged 18 to 65 who have diabetes.
 
Prescription data were obtained from PharMetrics Patient-Centric Database, comprised of medical and pharmaceutical claims for approximately 52 million unique insured patients from 91 health plans across the United States. Only medications chronically used to treat conditions resulting from diabetes were included.
 
“Daily medications are a significant expenditure for many diabetics, and nearly one in five adults with diabetes cuts back on prescription medications due to cost,” says Jackness. “Discount stores and mail-order companies are more competitive than neighborhood retailers and convenience chains stores, and price-conscious patients can save several thousand dollars per year. Clearly it pays to be an informed consumer.”
 
— Source: The Mount Sinai Medical Center