Generic Drug Prices Vary Significantly Across Hospitals
July
8
In an effort to increase transparency, CMS now requires hospitals to provide pricing information for all medications and services. A recent GoodRx analysis of 12 common generic medications in 16 hospitals found that hospital chargemaster prices of generic drugs are higher than the average retail price at pharmacies and vary markedly from hospital to hospital. For instance, one 50 mg tablet of sertraline (generic for depression and anxiety drug Zoloft) costs $57 a pill at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas but just 50 cents a pill in Camden Clark Memorial Hospital in West Virginia. In addition, among the 16 hospitals GoodRx analyzed, only six fully complied with CMS price transparency mandates.
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