Your Premera Plan

Health Plan Basics: Prescription Pricing Explained

Aug 18, 2026 | 5 minute read

The price of a prescription drug and what someone actually pays at the pharmacy can differ widely, depending on several factors.

Health plans group drugs into different pricing “tiers”, and the tier your medication falls in can affect how much you pay out of pocket. Understanding prescription pricing can help you make informed decisions and better manage your healthcare costs. 

In this short video, we’ll help viewers get familiar with some of the elements that play into prescription pricing, including:

  • Prescription drug tiers and how copays and coinsurance can differ by tier  
  • What a formulary is and how you can check if certain medications are covered by your health plan
  • The differences between generic, preferred brand, non-preferred, and specialty drugs 
  • A real-life example of how one couple makes decisions related to prescription costs to manage their healthcare spending

Want to learn more about health plans? Our full Health Plan Basics video series will help you make the most of your benefits. 

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