Novo Nordisk made headlines Tuesday by announcing it would slash the list prices of its GLP-1 drugs and arguing that doing so would expand access.
For insured patients who have to pay coinsurance — a certain percentage of the list price — when buying prescription drugs, or for those in high-deductible plans who need to pay list prices before meeting deductibles, the move will bring down out-of-pocket costs.
But in the complicated world of drug pricing, Novo’s move to cut 35% to 50% off the list price of its semaglutide products, Ozempic, Rybelus, and Wegovy, to $675 a month may not mean many more payers will cover the drugs, which would allow more people to get them. That, experts say, is because what matters to employers and other payers when making coverage decisions are net prices — the actual prices they pay after rebates and discounts.
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