Prescription co-pays rise for healthcare workers

While approximately 95 percent of healthcare organizations offer prescription drug coverage as part of their PPO, Indemnity, HMO or POS medical plan offerings, non-formulary co-pays in these plans have increased over the last three years.

The 2009 Compensation Data Healthcare results found, when comparing prescription costs, that POS plans had the highest co-pay, at $48. In contrast, non-formulary co-pays on PPO plans were $47. Over the last three years, the cost on PPO plans has increased by 9.8 percent.

Information in the 2009 Compensation Data Healthcare is gathered by Compdata Surveys, a national compensation and benefits survey data provider. The firm collects data annually from employers across the country to provide a summary of pay data, benefit information and pay practices.

The Compensation Data Healthcare results found that, while co-pays for non-formulary drugs have risen nationally, formulary drugs have also seen an increase in cost on flat dollar plans. In 2007, the average cost of formulary drugs on PPO plans was $25.48. This number has increased by 9.9 percent over the last three years.

Data also revealed that PPO, POS and HDHP plans had the highest formulary cost this year, at $28, and Indemnity had the lowest, at $25.

In comparison, co-pays for generic drugs have stayed under $15 on all plans in 2009. According to the newly released results, generic co-pays were $10 for PPO, POS and HMO plans. On average, an individual could save more than $30 per prescription when choosing a generic over a non-formulary drug.