New Help for Seniors to Find Better, Wiser Drug Deals Provided by Pharmacy Benefit Managers

After a generic for anti-cholesterol drug Zocor was introduced, Express Scripts combined financial incentives with "an advanced and aggressive communications program" that increased the ratio of consumers who used generic statin from 8% to 53.2% in March 2008.

Sept. 18, 2008 – The skyrocketing cost of health care seems to be slowing a bit and an obvious contributor is lower cost that senior citizens and others are finding for prescription drugs – generic drugs, in particular. A driving force in this trend are pharmacy benefit managers, which can increase their profits by helping consumers find lower priced drugs. A recent Wall Street Journal report finds the PBMs are becoming more proactive on their Websites in helping consumers lower prices and make other healthy choices.

Pharmacy benefits managers are the administrators responsible for processing and paying prescription drug claims for institutions, like insurance companies, or larger institutions that own them. They also are responsible for developing and maintaining the formulary, contracting with pharmacies, and negotiating discounts and rebates with drug manufacturers.

Daily Reports

KaiserNetwork.org

Pharmacy Benefits Managers Promote Low-Cost Generics, Adherence to Drug Plans
(Sep 17, 2008)

Pharmacy benefits managers have begun offering tools to help consumers find low-cost generic drugs, adhere to drug regimens and increase consumer choice, all of which can help increase profit margins, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the Journal, PBMs generally experience greater profit margins and members typically spend less when they use generic drugs, especially when ordered by mail. In addition, consumers who maintain their drug regimens help increase PBMs' revenues because they refill prescriptions more frequently.