With these steps, the company joins a growing trend in the pharmacy industry, following in the footsteps of entrepreneur Mark Cuban and other healthcare giants like CVS Health to simplify pricing and make medication more affordable.
Here are four more notes:
- Express Scripts aims to ensure that patients directly benefit from its negotiations with drug manufacturers. The new approach will protect patients from paying inflated list prices for medications, instead providing them with the lower prices negotiated by the PBM, according to a Jan. 29 news release from the company.
- The company also said the new measures will offer better cost predictability for patients in employer-sponsored plans, specifically those with high-deductible plans. The move aims to reduce financial burdens during the deductible phase when drug costs can be at their highest.
- New pharmacy benefits summaries and reports will provide both patients and plan sponsors with detailed insights into prescription drug costs. Patients will also receive personalized reports showing their annual drug costs, while plan sponsors will get standardized reports that improve transparency at the pharmacy claim level.
- Express Scripts’ latest move mirrors a broader trend in the pharmacy sector, with companies like Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, CVS and others pushing for simpler, more transparent drug pricing. Mr. Cuban launched his low-cost online pharmacy in January 2022 based on drug manufacturing prices, a model now being followed by other major PBMs and pharmacies.
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