P202 - Affordability of Top US Generic Drugs Across 6 National Discount Drug Programs

Nearly 4 in 10 Americans have trouble affording medications, especially for chronic conditions such as diabetes. Recently, major retailers have started “cash discount” drug programs promising patients access to lower prices without billing insurance. These programs leverage purchasing power to negotiate lower prices and pass savings on to patients. This poster describes a study analyzing 2023 cash prices for the top 50 US generic drugs across six national discount drug programs (Mark Cuban CostPlus Drug Company, CVS, GoodRx, Walmart, Amazon, and Costco) looking at 1) whether they could be purchased at “affordable” prices and 2) whether any particular retailer offered the lowest prices or whether patients would have to price-check multiple retailers to find savings. A cross-sectional analysis of prices for 30 and 90-day supplies for each drug’s most commonly prescribed dose was obtained from retailers’ websites. Authors: Chien-Wen Tseng, MD MS MPH, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine, Honolulu, HI, Yi-Wen Lasure, undergraduate student, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, Camlyn Masuda, PharmD, CDCES, BCACP, University of Hawaii Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, Hilo, HI. Funding sources: Hawai’i Medical Services Association Endowed Chair in Health Services and Quality Research (Tseng). The funders had no role in the design and conduct of this study, including data analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.