Blister pack with dollars instead of pills Employers and insurers say that copay assistanceprograms encourage people to take expensive brand-name drugsinstead of equally effective but cheaper generics. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Without medication to manage her plaque psoriasis, JenniferBrown's face, scalp, trunk and neck periodically become covered inpainful red, flaky patches so dry they crack and bleed.

She has gotten relief from medications, but they come at a highprice. For a while she was on Humira, made by AbbVie, with anaverage retail price of roughly $8,600 for two monthly injections.When that drug stopped working for her, Brown's doctor switched herto a different drug. Today she is using another injectable,Skyrizi, also by AbbVie, which costs about $36,000 for twoquarterly injections — nearly 40% more annually than Humira.

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