From Patients To Consumers: Direct-To-Consumer Pricing As A Model For Healthcare Reform

FORBES

Eli Lilly’s decision to sell its obesity drug Zepbound directly to patients for $499 per month—well below the $1,086 list price—signals how pricing innovation can bypass intermediaries, expand access and sharpen the industry’s focus on value.

Healthcare must move toward transparency and accountability in both cost and quality. Direct-to-consumer pricing shows how pharmaceutical companies can take initial steps in improving transparency. It could also lead to other changes that align payment with outcomes, setting the stage for system-wide reform. The significance of this move extends beyond one product or one company.

The structure of pharmaceutical pricing today leaves consumers disadvantaged. Patients often pay deductibles based on inflated list prices, not the lower negotiated rates that insurers enjoy. Medicare is often charged list prices, costs that ultimately fall to taxpayers.

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