Here are five things to know:
1. Co-pay cards and coupons have become a popular marketing strategy offered by drug manufacturers. The coupons cut patients’ out-of-pocket costs to promote branded medications — particularly those facing cheap alternatives — ultimately promising consumers savings at the pharmacy counter.
2. Pfizer’s coupons said consumers would “pay no more than” $15 to $25 for certain medications. However, patients were often required to pay much more because of limits on total savings that were not prominently disclosed on the coupon. In one case, a woman paid $144.62 for one of the medications, instead of the $15 maximum.
3. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the coupons Pfizer put out were “deceptive” because the limits on total savings clause was buried in the fine print.
4. Pfizer will pay $500,000 in fines and costs and make more than $200,000 in restitution payments over the coupons. The payments settle the claims from the New York attorney general.
5. In light of the charges, Pfizer has changed the text on its coupons this year to read “pay as little as.”
More articles on pharmacy:
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Why patients may face longer waits for generics under North American trade proposal
Reversing course: GlaxoSmithKline will resume paying physicians who promote its drugs
