November 16, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Features of outpatient prescription drug benefits

In 1997, 73 percent of full-time employees in medium and large private establishments participated in a health plan with an outpatient prescription drug benefit.

[Chart data—TXT]

Of employees covered by an outpatient prescription drug benefit, 48 percent of them received a higher reimbursement for generic drugs. Also, 43 percent were covered for mail order drugs—mail order programs provide prescription drugs for maintenance purposes. Lastly, 27 percent of covered employees received higher reimbursement for prescriptions filled at selected pharmacies.

These data are from the BLS Employee Benefits Survey. Learn more in Employee Benefits in Medium and Large Establishments, 1997, BLS Bulletin 2517 (PDF 804 K).