October 04, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Increases in prescription-drug copayments, 1993–2000

During the last decade, copayment amounts have increased in both indemnity and prepaid employee health care plans.

Percentage of workers in indemnity plans and in prepaid plans subject to copayment per prescription, by amount of copayment, private industry, 1993, 1997, and 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

The percentage of workers covered by indemnity plans with a $10 or greater copayment for brand-name prescription drugs increased from 19 percent in 1993 to 79 percent in 2000, while the percentage covered by prepaid plans increased from 10 percent in 1993 to 78 percent in 2000.

At the same time, the percentage of workers covered by indemnity plans with a copayment of less than $10 decreased from 74 percent to 12 percent; the percentage covered by prepaid plans decreased from 87 percent to 9 percent.

These data on prescription drugs benefits are from the BLS National Compensation Survey - Benefits (NCS) program. To learn more about prescription-drug and employee health care plans, see "Trends in employer-provided prescription-drug coverage," by Elizabeth Dietz in the Monthly Labor Review, August 2004.

 

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