U.S. employer health plans tap prescriptions that feds say are illegal

Every step is a struggle for Bruce Zimmerman, whose health has been deteriorating since he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis eight years ago.

In 2019, Zimmerman said, his then-employer offered him an opportunity that sounded irresistible: He and his wife, Becky, could take all-expense-paid trips to the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas to retrieve the medication he needed, Avonex, a drug made by Biogen that currently retails in the U.S. for $2,159 per weekly dose. Through Florida-based PriceMDs, which paid for the couple's travel, Zimmerman's Avonex would be free of charge.

PriceMDs is part of a growing class of businesses called alternative funding programs, or AFPs, which promise to connect patients with more-affordable options for accessing specialty medications that often