Generic Drug Prices Vary Significantly Across Hospitals

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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Jinghong Chen

Jinghong Chen Reporter

Jinghong produces infographics and data stories on health insurance and specialty pharmacy for AIS Health. She graduated from Missouri School of Journalism with a focus on data journalism and international reporting. Before joining AIS in 2018, she worked at WBEZ, Al Jazeera English and The New York Times Chinese.

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