For women in Williamsport and across Pennsylvania, health care costs do not stop with insurance premiums. Co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses create barriers that fall hardest on women, who are more likely to skip prescriptions or delay care because of cost. This is part of a hidden pink tax in our health system, where women consistently pay more simply to maintain their health.

A 2023 Deloitte study found that women with single coverage spend about $266 more per year on out-of-pocket expenses than men. The reasons are structural: women need more preventive screenings, often face follow-up imaging after mammograms, and require treatment for conditions like endometriosis. Each service means another co-pay and another bill.

Prescription costs deepen the problem. A recent GoodRx analysis shows women spent nearly 30 percent more out of pocket on prescriptions than men in 2024, an added $8.5 billion nationwide. Again, much of this gap is driven by factors such as women’s increased healthcare visits and managing more chronic conditions.

Unfortunately, 93% of Pennsylvania’s insurers and pharmacy benefit managers have made the burden even worse by using co-pay accumulator programs. These programs are designed to block manufacturer co-pay assistance, such as coupons or discount cards, from counting toward a patient’s deductible. Once the manufacturer’s assistance runs out, the full weight of out-of-pocket expenses falls back on the patient.

For women, who already spend more on prescriptions and out-of-pocket care, this practice is devastating. A mother managing her child’s asthma or a woman undergoing breast cancer treatment may use co-pay cards to stay on therapy. Under an accumulator program, she still faces thousands of dollars in surprise bills before insurance coverage fully applies.

In Pennsylvania, where cost already keeps nearly 20% of women from seeing a doctor, co-pay accumulators only increase the risk that women will skip treatment or abandon prescriptions altogether.

This hidden pink tax on Pennsylvania women’s health is unacceptable. Lawmakers should move to ban co-pay accumulators and protect patients from excessive cost-sharing. No woman should be punished for trying to afford the care her doctor prescribes.

JENNIFER RILEY

Malvern

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom