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That can either be because the terms of their plan dictate that they pay some copayment - a fixed proportion of the cost of their medication - or because they pay for drugs up to a certain excess above which the insurer will pay. Most obviously, by buying the medication for higher prices, the insurer is able to charge more to the patient in out-of-pocket payments when they go to collect the drugs. He says the scheme serves to extract as much money as possible from the patient in a variety of different ways. something being generic doesn't necessarily mean it's much cheaper that the original version,' said Haeder. 'Generics in Europe tend to be relatively cheap, in the U.S. CVS, Cigna and UnitedHealth pay around $2,050, $4,400 and $550 respectively. Generics of the lung cancer drug Tarceva can be bought for around $70 a month. A third insurer, UnitedHealth, charges around $200 a month, according to The Journal. CVS Health buys it for $7,000 and Cigna pays around $6,600. Generics are meant to be a useful way to drive down the high cost of drugs.īut across a selection of generic drugs, The Journal found that CVS and Cigna's prices were at least 24 times higher on average than what the manufacturers of those drugs sell them for.Ĭancer drug Gleevec has a market value of around $50 a month. When the patent for a particular drug expires, it can be replicated by other manufacturers - usually for a very low cost. The drugs that are most affected by this phenomenon are known as generics. Gleevec (pictured) is a cancer drug has a market value of around $50 a month

CVS, Cigna and UnitedHealth can charge considerably more than market value for medication, meaning patients pay considerable out-of-pocket costs and increasing premiums.