WOONSOCKET, R.I., April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS
Health (NYSE: CVS) today announced that, in 2018, the company's
pharmacy benefit management (PBM) solutions blunted the impact of
drug price inflation achieving a negative -4.2 percent price growth
for non-specialty drugs and a 1.7 percent price growth for
specialty drugs. Furthermore, 44 percent of CVS Caremark's
commercial PBM clients saw their net prescription drug prices
decline from 2017 to 2018. In addition, in 2018, CVS Caremark's
focus on drug affordability, simplifying prescription management
and applying interventions to improve medication adherence have
helped increase the percentage of optimally adherent members in key
chronic diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and
depression, which can result in reductions of nearly $2,000 in the overall cost of care per
member.
"Over the last three years, even as drug prices have increased
by 25 percent, CVS Caremark has helped our clients save more than
$141 billion by blunting drug price
inflation, prioritizing the use of effective, lower-cost drugs and
reducing the member's out-of-pocket spend," said Derica Rice, president, CVS Caremark, the PBM
business of CVS Health. "Moreover, our focused adherence efforts
have helped more members take their drugs as prescribed, which we
estimate has saved our clients an additional $18.3 billion in avoided medical costs since
2016."
Impact of Formulary Management
Managed formularies
enable CVS Caremark to take advantage of market competition on
behalf of its PBM clients and promote the use of effective, lower
cost drugs. In fact, in 2018, clients that adopted the
managed formularies offered by the Company saw savings of nearly 14
percent per 30-day prescription, even as drug price inflation,
while slightly moderated, grew four times faster than overall
inflation.
Managing Overall Spend for Diabetes and Making Insulin More
Affordable
Rising costs for the treatment of diabetes
continue to challenge payors and patients, but strategic management
of the antidiabetic category helped CVS Caremark control overall
spend. In 2018, trend for antidiabetic drugs was negative -1.7
percent, despite increasing utilization and brand price inflation
of 5.6 percent.
Formulary management strategies also played a key role in
helping keep insulin costs affordable for payors and consumers. In
2017, CVS Caremark led the market in taking steps to blunt the
impact of branded insulin price increases by making the less
expensive long-acting insulin Basaglar, the preferred drug on the
formulary. This formulary change resulted in member
out-of-pocket costs declining by nine percent, improved A1C levels,
and savings for payors.
Improving Medication Adherence and Reducing Consumers
Out-of-Pocket Costs
Despite the growth of high deductible
plan designs, CVS Caremark's programs and solutions helped reduce
out-of-pocket costs for consumers for the sixth straight
year. In fact, two out of every three CVS Caremark members
who used their prescription benefit in 2018 spent less than
$100 on their prescriptions and more
than 85 percent spent less than $300.
In addition, although medical costs have grown 14
percent since 2013, over that time period CVS Caremark members paid
8.4 percent less for a 30 day prescription.
Containing Ever Increasing Costs for Specialty
Drugs
The utilization and share of gross cost for specialty
drugs continues to grow -- reaching 45 percent of total pharmacy
spend in 2018, as compared to 42 percent in 2017 -- despite
comprising only one percent of prescription claims overall. In
2018, although manufacturer-driven price inflation for specialty
drugs measured 7.6 percent, CVS Caremark was able to keep specialty
drug price growth at just 1.7 percent for clients. This was
achieved through a tightly managed approach including effective
formulary strategies, indication- and outcomes-based contracting,
and utilization management to guide safe and appropriate use for
patients dealing with complex and often debilitating
conditions.
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
discounts and rebates on overall trend. The 2018 trend performance
is based on a cohort of CVS Health commercial PBM clients –
employers and health plans.
To learn more about the CVS Caremark 2018 drug trend.
About CVS Health
CVS Health is the nation's premier health innovation company
helping people on their path to better health. Whether in one of
its pharmacies or through its health services and plans, CVS Health
is pioneering a bold new approach to total health by making quality
care more affordable, accessible, simple and seamless. CVS Health
is community-based and locally focused, engaging consumers with the
care they need when and where they need it. The Company has more
than 9,900 retail locations, approximately 1,100 walk-in medical
clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with approximately 92
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. CVS Health also serves an estimated
38 million people through traditional, voluntary and
consumer-directed health insurance products and related services,
including rapidly expanding Medicare Advantage offerings. This
innovative health care 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 Contact:
Christine
Cramer
CVS
Health
(401)
770-3317
christine.cramer@cvshealth.com
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SOURCE CVS Health