WASHINGTON, June 27 (UPI) -- U.S. health policy researchers say employers who skimp on drug benefits lose more than they save due to absenteeism and lost productivity.
The study, conducted by the nonprofit Integrated Benefits Institute, looked at the medical histories of several thousand workers with rheumatoid arthritis. It found many people were not taking the drugs because they considered the co-payments too high, The New York Times said Wednesday.
The study said employers incurred $17.2 million in costs from lost productivity, 26 percent more than the estimate of what they would have spent if the workers had taken their arthritis drugs.
The co-payments averaged $26 for a 30-day supply, indicating a fairly low threshold before out-of-pocket costs prompted workers to forgo medication, the newspaper said.
