A new study shows that many Medicare beneficiaries do not know the real costs of their prescription drugs. Despite the up to 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs, many beneficiaries would do well to sit down and examine the price they are paying for prescription drugs, especially any “specialty tier” drugs they may be taking.
The study by NERA Economic Consulting found that beneficiaries were “largely unaware” of the high cost of specialty-tier prescription drugs. Specialty-tier drugs are placed in a special payment category by insurance plans and often include medications used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS and lupus.