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# Drug Companies See Coupons as Financial Risk
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/drug-companies-see-coupons-as-financial-risk/
- Published: 2018-03-20T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T23:54:18.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5141020

MarketWatch says some drug companies are cautioning that co-pay accumulators, a new initiative involving coupons to lower co-pay on some medications, pose a financial risk to the companies. The online [report](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/drug-companies-are-beginning-to-wake-up-to-this-new-risk-factor-2018-03-19/print?ref=fdaweb.com) says the new programs don’t let drug company coupons reduce a patient’s co-pay as fully and also don’t help patients meet their out-of-pocket requirements with the coupons. “That has already affected whether patients fill prescriptions, especially those with high deductible plans, affecting drugmakers’ sales in turn,” the report says. “These specialty drugs boast some of the highest price tags, and are among the most lucrative products for the pharmaceutical industry.”

MarketWatch quotes a Pfizer financial filing that co-pay accumulators are being used “to shift more of the cost burden to manufacturers and patients. This cost-shifting has given consumers greater control of medication choices, as they pay for a larger portion of their prescription costs and may cause consumers to favor lower cost generic alternatives to branded pharmaceuticals.”