Three-Tiered–Copayment Drug Coverage and Use of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs

Abstract

With spending for prescription drugs rising so rapidly, many employers and health insurance providers have experimented with designing their drug benefit packages. The trend has been to incorporate more cost consciousness into the formulary structure within the context of safety and efficacy issues. Among the most prominent approaches have been 3-tier drug formularies: in these plans, patients receive financial incentives from the employer to use generic medicines over branded products or else select the branded medicine designated as the preferred one. Use of 3-tier drug plans has nearly doubled in the past 2 years, from 29% of covered workers in 2000 to 57% in 2002.¹