Out of Pocket Elasticity: New Situations Highlight the Importance of Understanding Patient Responses to Cost Burden Sharing

Subtle trends in health insurance plan designs are having a profound impact on patient cost sharing burdens. Resulting distortions to the desired encouragement toward cost effective therapies are driving some patients to abandon needed medications while others, either consciously or not, are gaining access to exceptional health plans
at non-competitive costs. Circumstances such as these are developing across the complex US health system and patients are becoming more informed and responding to the often perplexing incentives.
It has never been more important for pharmaceutical manufacturers to understand the circumstances these patients face.