GoodRx, the leading platform for medication savings in the U.S., has officially published results from a new report called The Prescription Drug Gender Divide, which focuses on describing how women have to bear a significantly greater out-of-pocket cost burden than men.
Going by the available details, this particular report goes on to show that, during 2024, women spent $8.8 billion, or 30%, more than men on out-of-pocket prescription costs. Now, when you put that alongside the common responsibilities of managing a career, family planning, and caregiving, a larger chunk of women is often left frustrated with the financial pressure required to maintain their health.
More on that would reveal how the stated burden also packs together several hidden costs across healthcare ecosystem. As for why this could be the case, the answer resides in higher healthcare utilization, higher rates of chronic conditions, as well as spending on female-specific conditions like women’s fertility and menopause.
“Affordable healthcare doesn’t just support better health and quality of life for women, but has a positive ripple effect on our families, communities and healthcare system,” said Dorothy Gemmell, Chief Commercial Officer at GoodRx. “At GoodRx, we are working closely with healthcare’s key stakeholders–from pharmaceutical companies to retail pharmacies–to help women at all stages of life access lower prices on essential medications.”
Talk about the whole report on a slightly deeper level, we begin from how women were deemed to have spent almost $40 billion in total out-of-pocket prescription costs in 2024.
Almost like an extension of that, out-of-pocket spending on female-specific conditions also exceeded $1.5 billion in 2024. Menopause treatments were also found to cost an average of $16.95 per prescription, whereas on the other hand, conditions that demand specialized treatments, like endometriosis and morning sickness, were adjudged to mandate an even more substantial spend ($29.38 and $37.87 per prescription, respectively).
Another detail worth a mention is rooted in a piece of data, which claims that gender gap was at its biggest possible stage for women between the age of 18 and 44. We get to say so because women in that age bracket were found to spend up to 64% more out-of-pocket on medications than men of the same age group. However, as they age, this gap showed signs of shrinking down.
As for the women aged 45 to 64, they would spend 35.3% more than men in 2024, and women over 65 would spend 16.5% more.
Markedly enough, women were also said to significantly outspend men on mental health treatments. The former contingent, in essence, reported to spend 113% more out-of-pocket on depression medications and 103% more on anxiety treatments than men. These disparities are likely driven by both higher prescription fill rates and systemic factors, such as differences in how mental health conditions are diagnosed and treated between genders.
Among other things, we ought to mention how, in a bid to address the given gap, GoodRx has been helping women save time and money when filling their medications at more than 70,000 pharmacies nationwide. The company is doing so by offering savings on medications for female-specific conditions, like birth control, menopause treatments, fertility medications, and other conditions that disproportionately affect women.
For fertility treatments, the company is offering discounts of upto 43%, while the menopause hormone treatments have seen cash prizes in the range of $99-$249.
If we turn our attention towards birth control, GoodRx is offering there a seamless ecommerce option for purchasing Opill, which happens to be the first over-the-counter daily birth control pill, complemented by significant discounts on prescription birth control.
“Though we typically think of the ‘pink tax’ as an upcharge on goods and services, these latest findings illustrate how the spending gap between men and women transcends grocery store shelves, with women paying a premium just to maintain their health,” said Tori Marsh, MPH, Director of Research at GoodRx. “This gender inequality leaves women with a greater financial burden, potentially requiring women to choose between their own health and other recurring expenses. This can lead to more serious health issues and create extra strain.”
