Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente said a commissioned analysis found lower prescription drug costs for Washington state commercial employer groups enrolled in its health plans compared with matched market benchmarks.
The review, conducted by Milliman, compared Kaiser Permanente’s 2023 prescription drug costs for employer groups with 50 to 10,000 employees enrolled in HMO and PPO plans, according to a May 6 hospital news release.
The analysis found employers saw 26% lower prescription drug costs through Kaiser Permanente HMO plans, representing savings of $21.52 per member per month compared with the market. PPO plans showed 15% lower prescription drug costs, or savings of $15.56 per member per month.
Kaiser Permanente also reported higher generic dispensing rates than market benchmarks. HMO plans recorded an 89.6% generic dispensing rate compared with 84.4% for the market benchmark, while PPO plans recorded 89.2% compared with 84.7%.
Milliman excluded members with Medicare coverage, members living outside Washington, jumbo accounts with 10,000 or more members and groups managed outside Washington from the analysis.
