GoodRx Debuts Tracker to Monitor Out-of-Pocket Prescription Costs

GoodRx aims to give consumers a better handle on prescription affordability.

The prescription savings platform introduced its Prescription Cost Tracker to monitor out-of-pocket prescription spending trends in the United States, according to a Wednesday (June 26) press release.

“Helping Americans get the healthcare they need starts with tackling the barriers of costs and coverage, and there are three key factors driving the financial burden for prescriptions: high medication costs; reduced insurance coverage; and increased friction,” the company said in the release. “The Prescription Cost Tracker, which will be regularly updated to reflect the latest available data, helps examine these factors and illustrate why 51 million Americans leave prescription medications unfilled every month and many more face high costs at the counter.”

High costs are a barrier for consumers seeking all sorts of healthcare beyond prescription drugs. In some cases, costs may have nothing to do with the medical field.

For example, the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Women Without Reliable Transportation Are 78% More Likely to Delay Their Medical Care” found that 10% of American women cannot get to their doctor appointments because they don’t have access to the transportation required to get there.

“A multitude of health-related issues can cascade from there,” PYMNTS reported this week. “Women who lack reliable transportation are 17% less likely to get the preventive medical care they need. Compared to those with access to transportation, they are also 78% more likely to postpone medical care until a problem arises and are nearly twice as likely to neglect dental care until a problem occurs.”

However, this data should not suggest that women in the U.S. are neglecting their health. The study showed that women are 11% more likely than men to research aspects of their health and wellness and 19% more likely to understand how to determine the best medical and wellness providers.

Synchrony General Manager of Wellness Claude Royster told PYMNTS this month that many families delay or skip medical care because they don’t understand their financial options, leading to worsened health outcomes and higher long-term costs.

“The patient wants transparency,” Royster said. “They want to understand what it is going to cost to get the care that they need — so it is very important that health systems and insurers provide, transparently, what their costs are.”