WOONSOCKET, R.I., April 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The high cost
of prescription drugs is one of the nation's most pressing problems
and a major source of financial worry for consumers across the
nation. While CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has made significant
progress in mitigating the impact of high list prices set by
pharmaceutical manufacturers, for too many Americans annual
out-of-pocket drug costs are still significant. In response,
CVS Health announced today that it is fighting back by launching
the most comprehensive program in the industry to help patients
save money on their medications.
According to a recent national poll, commissioned by CVS Health,
83 percent of Americans said they were concerned personally about
the impact of rising prescription drug prices.1 As
prescription drug prices continue to rise and enrollment in high
deductible health plans grows, many patients are shouldering higher
costs for their prescription medicine.
CVS Health will address this problem with a robust set of
initiatives, including the new CVS Pharmacy Rx Savings Finder,
which will enable the company's retail pharmacists for the first
time to evaluate quickly and seamlessly individual prescription
savings opportunities right at the pharmacy counter. This new tool
further enhances existing savings opportunities the company's
pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) CVS Caremark is currently offering
its clients such as the preventive drug lists that make medications
for many common, chronic conditions available at a $0 copay. In addition, CVS Caremark provides
real-time, member-specific drug costs and lower-cost alternatives
to prescribers through their electronic health record system and to
CVS Caremark members through the member portal and newly updated
app. These programs are part of CVS Health's commitment to helping
consumers find the lowest cost prescription drugs by offering more
pricing transparency for prescribers, pharmacists and
patients.
"Today's consumers are faced with higher prescription drug
prices than ever before and many of them are now paying for a
larger share of their prescription drug costs out of their own
pockets at the pharmacy counter due to growth in high deductible
health plans," said Thomas Moriarty,
Chief Policy and External Affairs Officer, CVS Health. "Until now,
patients haven't had the appropriate tools available to them to
help them manage these costs. To address this, CVS Health is giving
expanded tools to patients, prescribers and pharmacists so they can
evaluate prescription drug coverage in real-time and identify
lower-cost alternatives. We are committed to finding the right drug
at the lowest possible cost for patients to ensure they are able to
access and stay on the medications they need. That's our
promise."
At the Pharmacy Counter
The new CVS Pharmacy Rx Savings Finder enables the retail
pharmacist to quickly and seamlessly review a patient's
prescription regimen, medication history and insurance plan
information to determine the best way for them to save money on
out-of-pocket costs – with the primary goal of helping the patient
find the lowest cost alternative under their pharmacy benefits
plan.
"Our direct experience is that patients who are confronted with
high out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter are less likely to
pick up their prescriptions and are less likely to be adherent to
their prescribed therapy," said Kevin
Hourican, Executive Vice President, Retail Pharmacy, CVS
Pharmacy.
"Armed with the information available through our Rx Savings
Finder, our more than 30,000 CVS pharmacists can play an important
role by helping patients save money on their medications, providing
advice on how and when to take them, and ultimately helping them
achieve better health outcomes," Hourican added. "We are beginning
this process with our CVS Caremark PBM members and expect to roll
it out more broadly throughout the year."
The Rx Savings Finder will show pharmacy teams:
- First, if the prescribed medication is on the patient's
formulary and is the lowest cost option available.
- Second, if there are lower-cost options covered under the
patient's pharmacy benefit – such as a generic medication or
therapeutic alternative with equivalent efficacy of treatment.
- Third, if the patient may be able to save money by filling a
90-day prescription rather than a 30-day prescription.
- Finally, if neither a generic nor a lower-cost alternative is
available, other potential savings options for eligible or
uninsured patients where allowed by applicable laws and
regulation.2
Pharmacists can also help patients enroll in the ExtraCare
Loyalty Program and sign them up for Pharmacy and Health Rewards.
Through Pharmacy and Health Rewards, patients receive $5 in ExtraBucks for every 10 prescriptions
filled, earning up to $50 in
ExtraBucks annually.
At the Doctor's Office
Another component of the company's comprehensive savings
approach is the recently launched real-time benefits program, which
helps bring greater drug price transparency to prescribers and CVS
Caremark members. At the point-of-prescribing, providers are able
to see the member-specific cost for a selected drug, based on a
member's coverage, along with up to five lowest-cost, clinically
appropriate therapeutic alternatives based on the patient's
formulary. PBM members have access to the same information on the
CVS Caremark app and member portal. Early results show that
prescribers accessing the real-time benefits information through
their electronic health record switched their patient's drug
from a non-covered drug to a drug on formulary 85 percent of the
time. In addition, when the patient's drug is covered, prescribers
using real-time benefits switch their patient to a lower-cost
alternative 30 percent of the time. When the prescriber switched to
a lower-cost drug, the difference was approximately $75 per prescription.
"We have been working hard to keep prescription medications
affordable for patients," said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., Executive
Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. "In fact, in
2017, nearly 90 percent of our PBM plan members spent less than
$300 out-of-pocket for their
prescription medicines. While this signals progress, for those
patients that cost is not insignificant. That is why we are
committed to doing even more across our enterprise to help patients
find and access the lowest cost drug at the pharmacy which
ultimately will help improve clinical outcomes and remove higher
downstream medical costs from the system."
Using Pharmacy Benefit Management Solutions
CVS Health is also making a variety of PBM solutions available
to help further drive down drug trend for its PBM clients and drug
costs for the patients they support. The company's Point of Sale
(POS) rebate offering allows the value of negotiated rebates on
branded drugs to be passed on directly to patients when they fill
their prescriptions – and the savings from this program can be
significant. In 2013, CVS Health led the industry with the
introduction of POS rebates to clients, and today nearly 10 million
members are covered by and able to benefit from the
program.
In 2017, despite manufacturer brand list price increases on
drugs near 10 percent, CVS Health PBM strategies reduced drug trend
for CVS Caremark commercial clients to the lowest level in five
years, keeping drug price growth at a minimal 0.2 percent. In fact,
42 percent of CVS Caremark commercial clients spent less on their
pharmacy benefit plan in 2017 than they had in 2016. CVS Caremark
helped members reduce monthly out-of-pocket costs and improve
adherence to its highest level in seven years in key categories
such as diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
Prescription drug trend is the measure of growth in prescription
spending per member per month. Trend calculations take into account
the effects of drug price, drug utilization and the mix of branded
versus generic drugs as well as the positive effect of negotiated
rebates on overall trend. The 2017 trend performance is based on a
cohort of CVS Health PBM commercial clients, employers and health
plans.
About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their
path to better health. Through its more than 9,800 retail
locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading
pharmacy benefits manager with more than 94 million plan members, a
dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one
million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services,
and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan,
the company enables people, businesses and communities to manage
health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique
integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better
health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more
information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health
at https://www.cvshealth.com.
Media
Contacts
Erin Pensa
401-770-4786
Erin.Pensa@CVSHealth.com
Erin Britt
401-770-9237
Erin.Britt@CVSHealth.com
Investor Contact
Mike
McGuire
401-770-4050
michael.mcguire@cvshealth.com
1 The Morning Consult poll was conducted from
February 22-26, 2018, among a
national sample of 1992 registered voters. The interviews were
conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target
sample of registered voters based on age, race/ethnicity, gender,
educational attainment, and region. Results from the full survey
have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
2 Prescriptions submitted for reimbursement to
Medicare, Medicaid or other federal or state programs are not
eligible.
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SOURCE CVS Health