WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has reported that, in 2017, the company kept drug price growth nearly flat for its pharmacy benefit management (PBM) clients, at a minimal 0.2%, despite manufacturer price inflation near 10%. Overall, the combination of this nearly flat drug price growth, with low drug utilization growth of 1.7%, reduced drug trend
A lobbying event in Washington has triggered salvoes between two combatants: independent community pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers. The National Community Pharmacists Association is holding its Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In advocacy drive this week, where it will also release “The PBM Story: What They Say, What They Do, and What Can Be Done About It,” offered
WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) has introduced the Creating Transparency to Have Drug Rebates Unlocked Act (C-THRU), aimed at bringing more visibility into prescription drug pricing by pharmacy benefit managers. The C-THRU legislation, initiated Wednesday in the Senate Finance Committee, would require PBMs serving Medicare Part D plans to disclose the aggregate rebates
A half-dozen congressmen pointed a finger at pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) on the floor of the House of Representatives last week in an hour of comments on the high cost of prescriptions drugs, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) said in its Executive Update e-newsletter. In the session, Reps. Doug Collins (R., Ga.), Brian Babin
Donald Trump briefly touched on the pharmaceutical industry in his first major press conference since being elected president. In the news conference yesterday at Trump Tower in Manhattan, Trump talked about drug companies relocating overseas and referred to the rising cost of pharmaceuticals. “We’ve got to get our drug industry back,” Trump said after discussing
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is partnering with OptumRx to create a new pharmacy benefit to meet consumers’ changing prescription drug needs and help employers, health plans and their members achieve better health outcomes and greater cost savings. OptumRx is UnitedHealth Group’s freestanding pharmacy care services business, managing more than a billion prescriptions annually. Through a
Congressional scrutiny of the recent health insurer mega-mergers is a welcome sight, according to B. Douglas Hoey, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association. This summer, health insurer M&As reached a peak with Anthem’s $48 billion purchase of Cigna and Aetna’s $34 billion acquisition of Humana. On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Regulatory
