Cost of Co-Pays for Non-Formulary Drugs Continues to Increase in Minnesota and Wisconsin
Kansas City, Kan. -- In past months, large retailers have made news with plans to reduce the cost of some generic prescriptions. Now months later, the newly-released Compensation Data 2007 – Minnesota/Wisconsin results have revealed prescription co-pay costs have increased since 2006 for non-formulary drugs. However, the survey of 143 organizations reported formulary and generic co-pays saw increases specifically in PPO and POS plans this year.
Non-formulary drugs have risen in cost over the last year in both states. POS plans had the highest co-pay with $53.00 and were followed by PPO plans with $44.40, a difference of $8.60. Since 2005, non-formulary co-pays for PPO plans have increased by 12.1 percent. A smaller increase was seen in HMO plans, 4.5 percent.
While co-pays for non-formulary drugs have increased in Minnesota and Wisconsin, formulary drugs have also seen a rise in cost across PPO and POS flat dollar health plans. In 2005, the average cost of formulary drugs on PPO plans was $23.49. This number has increased by 8.3 percent over the last three years. POS plans had the highest formulary cost this year, $31.00, while Indemnity had the lowest, $22.16.
In comparison, co-pays for generic drugs have varied by plan from $9.36 to $14.00 over the last three years. According to the newly released results, generic co-pays were $10.84 for PPO and $10.48 for Indemnity plans. POS had the highest cost with $14.00, while HMO had the lowest, $9.36.
"Despite reductions in health care coverage, the results have shown employers are still offering prescription plans as part of their health insurance," said Amy Kaminski, manager of marketing programs for Compdata Surveys, the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. "In 2007, 98.2 percent of organizations reported offering prescription coverage with their PPO plans. And, at least 97 percent of all companies offering Indemnity, HMO and POS plans provide prescription drug coverage."
About the Survey
Compensation Data 2007 – Minnesota/Wisconsin contains data on 495 job titles ranging from entry-level to top executives. Information was collected on more than 213,000 employees across both states. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data, benefits information and pay practices with an effective date of March 1, 2007.
Compdata Surveys is the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Data is collected annually from thousands of organizations across the country. Compdata Surveys has been providing accurate, reliable data at affordable prices to organizations from coast to coast since 1988. For further information about the compensation and benefits surveys, contact Lane Lyons at (800) 300-9570 or llyons[at]compdatasurveys.com.
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