President Trump recently signed two bills passed by Congress with broad bipartisan support, “Know the Lowest Price Act of 2018” (for Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries) and “Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act” (for commercial employer-based and individual policies).
When the cash price for a prescription is less than what you would pay using your insurance plan, pharmacists may no longer be required to keep that a secret. In the past, pharmacists could have been fined for violating their contracts with pharmacy benefit managers and even dropped from insurance networks for disclosing cheaper drug options to consumers. There is a catch, though: pharmacists will be permitted, but not required, to tell patients about lower-cost options. It’s up to the customer to ask.