Patients with VA insurance less likely to skip medication due to costs

Those insured through Veterans Affairs are less likely than those with other coverage to skip taking their medicines as a cost-cutting measure, according to a new study. Using data from 2013-2017, researchers found that around 6% of the more than 2,500 VA-insured individuals in the study didn’t take their medications as prescribed due to costs. In contrast, almost 11% of the nearly 90,000 privately insured individuals in the study did the same. The difference is especially stark given that VA-insured individuals tend to be older, in worse health, and have lower incomes — and therefore likelier to have more trouble paying for medications. Other insurance systems could model themselves on the VA — which uses a national drug formulary and negotiates lower prices with companies — as a way to also reduce health costs for their beneficiaries, the authors suggest.