WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health
(NYSE: CVS) today announced that, in 2016, its pharmacy benefit
management (PBM) clients achieved the lowest drug trend in the past
four years, despite rising drug prices. CVS Caremark clients saw
their prescription drug trend drop to an average of 3.2 percent
compared to 5.0 percent in 2015. In addition, 38 percent of CVS
Caremark commercial clients achieved a negative trend – which means
they actually spent less on their prescription benefit in 2016 than
they did in 2015, despite rising drug prices. Out-of-pocket costs
for members also dropped 3.0 percent compared to the previous
year.
"No one is more concerned about the high cost of prescription
drugs than CVS Health," said Troyen Brennan, M.D., Executive Vice
President and Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. "Our very
favorable drug trend results for 2016 demonstrate that we have been
able to deliver best-in-class value to clients and their
members."
Unmanaged drug trend for 2016 was 11.0 percent, driven primarily
by price inflation for branded specialty and traditional drugs, as
well as increased utilization due to an aging population. CVS
Caremark was able to reduce trend for clients by 7.8 percentage
points to 3.2 percent through PBM management solutions that include
price protection and the negotiation of rebates, of which more than
90 percent are passed back to clients. CVS Caremark also encouraged
the use of less expensive generic drugs through managed formularies
and applied targeted approaches to addressing high-spend drivers
such as hyper-inflating drugs. On average, clients who selected the
CVS Caremark standard managed formulary achieved a trend of 2.2
percent, which was less than half the trend of 4.5 percent for
clients who used a custom formulary and opted out of drug removals.
Additionally, clients who chose our generic-focused value formulary
had the highest generic dispensing rate (GDR) at 88.2 percent and
the lowest baseline cost at $81.86
per member per month.
Although overall drug price inflation was lower in 2016, it
still accounted for almost 80 percent of the unmanaged trend. The
relative impact of inflation on specialty branded products
continued to increase relative to traditional branded medications.
At the same time, overall specialty products grew to nearly 36
percent of overall gross spend. Three of the top five categories
contributing to gross trend were specialty drug categories,
including anti-inflammatory medications for rheumatoid arthritis
and psoriasis; antineoplastics and adjunctive therapies used to
treat cancer; and psychotherapeutic and neurological agents,
including multiple sclerosis therapies. Meanwhile, generic
utilization growth kept costs low for members as well as clients
and drove a 3.5 point overall cost reduction for clients.
CVS Caremark offers a variety of solutions, including flexible
formulary options based on clinical evidence, to help manage
pharmacy costs while ensuring patients have access to the
medications they need. In addition, CVS Caremark's strategic
assessment of the pharmaceutical marketplace enables the company to
negotiate aggressive rebates and help to lower costs for clients.
More than 90 percent of brand manufacturer contracts also include
price protection, a critical element in protecting clients in a
market characterized by significant drug price increases.
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 2016 trend performance is based on a
cohort of CVS Health PBM commercial clients – employers and health
plans.
To learn more about the CVS Caremark 2016 drug trend, click
here.
About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their
path to better health. Through its more than 9,700 retail
locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading
pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 90 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
Contact:
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Investor
Contact:
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Christine
Cramer
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Nancy
Christal
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CVS Health
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CVS Health
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(401)
770-3317
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(914)
722-4704
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christine.cramer@cvshealth.com
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nancy.christal@cvshealth.com
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SOURCE CVS Health