New Studies Released

The California Association of Health Plans has announced that its national affiliate released a study of the cost of 10 prescription drugs that can be purchased in a “health care setting, such as a hospital,” or “through a specialty pharmacy,” finds “hospitals and physician offices are hiking prescription drug costs for patients by thousands of dollars for the same drugs that can be purchased at a specialty pharmacy.”

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) also released a study titled “Medi-Cal Expansion Has Reduced Financial Barriers to Needed Health Care”. It finds that “California counties with high uninsured rates in 2013 – places that stood to gain the most from Medi-Cal expansion (in 2014) – families have been less likely to delay needed care due to cost compared to those in other areas;” the study also finds that Medi-Cal’s enrollment “has been lower than expected during the pandemic.”