A drug coupon is a

coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in r ...

intended to help consumers save money on

pharmaceutical drugs A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and r ...

. They are offered by drug companies or distributed to consumers via doctors and pharmacists, and most can be obtained online. There are drug coupons for drugs from many categories such as cholesterol,

acne Acne, also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term skin condition that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include blackheads or whiteheads, pimples, oily skin, and po ...

, migraine,

allergies Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic dermat ...

, etc.

Drug coupons as pharmaceutical marketing

Direct-to-consumer or "DTC" marketing of prescription drugs is common in the United States. Patients frequently inquire about or request medications they have seen advertised in print or on television. Pharmaceutical companies use drug coupons as a marketing tool to stimulate demand for their products. Drug coupons are commonly offered for new products to stimulate demand or ameliorate high co-pays for non-formulary (non-preferred products) as a way to level the playing field and remove the disincentive for using a drug that is not covered by insurance.

Restrictions

In an effort to avoid unregulated resale of drugs, the

Prescription Drug Marketing Act {{Regulation of therapeutic goods in the United States The Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) of 1987 (P.L. 100-293, 102 Stat. 95) is a law of the United States federal government. It establishes legal safeguards for prescription drug distri ...

of 1988 banned the traffic or

counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

of redeemable drug coupons.

Types

Most drug coupons are printed by consumers using their personal computers and printers. Drug coupons reduce out-of-pocket costs for consumers in a variety of ways such as instant savings offers, free trial offers (also known as try-before-you-buy offers),

copay A copayment or copay (called a gap in Australian English) is a fixed amount for a covered service, paid by a patient to the provider of service before receiving the service. It may be defined in an insurance policy and paid by an insured person ea ...

reduction or rebates. Generic drug companies rarely offer coupons, though insurance companies occasionally offer discounts on generic drugs. In addition PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) offer discount cards that act similarly to coupons. These cards work for both generic and brand medications and can save cash paying customers up to 75% on their prescription medication.

Drug coupons and healthcare costs

Critics of prescription drug coupon programs have argued that these programs lead to higher healthcare costs for consumers. Typically, American patients with health insurance pay a percentage of the cost of a prescription drug out of pocket, with insurance companies responsible for the rest of the medication's cost. Insurance companies charge higher copayments for brand-name drugs than for generics in order to encourage patients to choose less expensive alternative medications when they are available. However, by reducing a patient's copayment, prescription drug coupons also reduce a patient's incentive to choose a less expensive generic medication. As an example,

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

reported in 2009 that the generic

medication

Minocin Minocycline, sold under the brand name Minocin among others, is a tetracycline antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections such as pneumonia. It is generally less preferred than the tetracycline doxycycline. It is also ...

cost $109 a month while a newer alternative called

Solodyn Minocycline, sold under the brand name Minocin among others, is a tetracycline antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections such as pneumonia. It is generally less preferred than the tetracycline doxycycline. It is also ...

cost $514 a month. Solodyn can be taken only once daily, while Minocin must be taken twice daily. Since Solodyn's manufacturer offers a coupon to reduce copays, patients may believe that both drugs cost the same amount. Drug coupon advocates argue that coupon programs enhance medication adherence by reducing or eliminating drug copays. As of 2008, the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

(FDA) was planning a study to see if coupons make patients overlook drug risks and side effects in their effort to save money. All medicines come with a certain level of risk. This is why all prescription drugs include information reviewed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about how the medication works in the body, its uses and when it should not be used, possible side effects, the recommended dosage, and other facts about the appropriate use of the drug. Most Americans have never heard of “Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies” (REMS); yet, these drug safety protections give millions of Americans with serious diseases, such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, access to medicines that would otherwise be too dangerous to be allowed on the market. REMS programs exist because certain medicines can cause serious side effects, life-threatening infections, allergic reactions, liver damage or birth defects. Before patients take one of these drugs, they and their prescriber should be aware of the risks, and may need to take certain steps that lessen these risks, in order to ensure they benefit from the treatment. Unions have filed several lawsuits seeking to ban drug coupons, characterizing them as illegal kickbacks. As of June, 2013 Three of these lawsuits have been dismissed. Six more are pending. This ruling is seen as vindication for the Pharmaceutical industry that drug coupons are an acceptable business practice.

References

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