Five Blue Cross Blue Shield plans are funding and collaborating with Evio, a Denver-based pharmacy solutions startup, to track the effectiveness of various drugs across their nearly 20 million members, the startup announced June 22.
The five nonprofit plans — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Shield of California, Highmark and Independence Blue Cross —are funding the initiative, which aims to provide insight on patient experience with drugs and treatments. The amount each plan has provided to Evio has not been made public.
Through the partnership, Evio will track drug performance across an array of patient types and preexisting conditions or diseases.
Ultimately, the collaboration aims to challenge high drug prices through outcome-based contracting. The push also aims to promote "affordability, outcomes, and experience for patients," according to the announcement, with an emphasis on innovation tied to collected data.
The startup is helmed by President and CEO Hank Schlissberg, a former executive at DaVita, who aims to cut down on price inflation between a drug's manufacturer and the pharmacy counter through results-based contracts, he said in the announcement.