“The Department has received inquiries related to entities withholding cost-saving information from consumers, which sometimes results in an insured [patient] paying more for pharmacy benefits than the actual cost of such pharmacy benefits,” the department said in April.
Illinois and Ohio state legislators are considering bills to make such restrictions illegal, and similar legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
“If we didn’t have these gag clauses, there would not be a need for the legislation and policy changes movement that’s going on in the country,” said Garth Reynolds, executive director of the Illinois Pharmacists Association.
KHN’s coverage of prescription drug development, costs and pricing is supported by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.