ST. LOUIS, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when
consumers, businesses and policymakers are intensely focused on
reducing prescription drug costs, Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX)
helped employers reduce the rate of growth in per-person
prescription drug spending to 1.5 percent in 2017, according to the
2017 Express Scripts Drug Trend Report released today. While
this growth rate is the lowest Express Scripts has measured since
1993, there is more to be done to make prescription medications
more affordable for working families, seniors and the disabled.
"Express Scripts is committed to delivering innovative solutions
that help our clients actively manage their pharmacy benefit to
drive better outcomes and lower costs," said Express Scripts
President & CEO Tim Wentworth.
"While others offer vague promises of future savings, programs such
as our SafeguardRx® solutions delivered greater value
for the money our clients and members spent on medications for
costly conditions, such as diabetes and cancer. However, rising
healthcare costs still burden too many consumers and businesses.
Express Scripts pledges to continue working with policymakers on
both sides of the aisle to advance a prescription drug
affordability agenda that enhances our ability to reduce costs
while improving access and quality."
For plans covering employees and their families, per-person
spending on prescription drugs rose 1.5 percent in 2017, less than
half of the increase reported in 2016, and the lowest since we
first began tracking drug spending data in 1993. Nearly half of all
Express Scripts' commercial clients saw their drug spending
decrease in 2017. Plans that adopted a broader variety of
SafeGuardRx, specialty and other core PBM solutions saw their
year-over-year drug spending decrease an average of 1.2
percent.
Additional key findings include:
- The share of cost per prescription paid by members in an
employer-funded plan held steady, with members paying 14.3 percent
of their total prescriptions costs, the same as in 2016. The
average member out-of-pocket cost -- which includes deductible and
copay -- for a 30-day prescription was $11.24, a 12-cent
increase from 2016.
- Spending on traditional drugs for common diseases such as
diabetes and hypertension, which accounted for 59 percent of total
spending, decreased about 4 percent, due primarily to a drop in
unit costs of 4.9 percent, reflecting our ability to mitigate
manufacturer price increases and help patients and their physicians
choose effective, lower cost alternatives. Generic fill rates
increased to 86 percent in 2017.
- Year-over-year spending on specialty drugs increased 11 percent
in 2017 due to increases in utilization (8 percent) and unit costs
(3 percent). The increase in specialty-drug spending was mitigated
significantly by our ability to get money back for treatment
failures involving these complex, high-cost therapies, as we did in
our Oncology and Inflammatory Conditions Care Value Programs®. This
approach will be increasingly more important now that specialty
medications account for nearly 41 percent of total drug
spending.
- Medicare and Medicaid plans managed by Express Scripts also saw
lower growth rates in year-over-year spending, with increases of
2.3 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.
- Drug spending among Health Insurance Exchange plans managed by
Express Scripts decreased 3.3 percent in 2017, due to a 4.2 percent
reduction in unit costs and a less than 1 percent increase in
utilization.
"Our people and our solutions delivered record-low increases in
spending, but our work is far from done," said Mr. Wentworth. "We
know many still struggle to afford their medications, and we will
continue to innovate – and advocate – for those people who are
challenged by their out-of-pocket costs."
In a companion report that reviews drug spending trends and
public policy, Express Scripts also called on all stakeholders to
act on a prescription drug affordability agenda. Common-sense
policy changes include tackling the nation's opioid addiction
crisis; creating new safe harbors to encourage value-based
reimbursement; and greater regulatory scrutiny of pay-for-delay
settlements between biologic and biosimilar manufacturers.
This agenda builds on our detailed policy proposals from last
year and which still resonate with consumers and businesses.
About the 2017 Express Scripts Drug Trend Report
Express Scripts' annual Drug Trend Report is among the industry's
most comprehensive analyses of drug spending in the U.S. The
research examined the de-identified prescription drug use data of
approximately 34.3 million people with a pharmacy benefit plan
administered by Express Scripts, including those in an
employer-funded, Medicare, Medicaid or Health Insurance Exchange
plan.
To access the report, please visit
http://lab.express-scripts.com/lab/drug-trend-report.
About Express Scripts
Express Scripts puts medicine within reach of tens of millions of
people by aligning with plan sponsors, taking bold action and
delivering patient-centered care to make better health more
affordable and accessible.
Headquartered in St. Louis,
Express Scripts provides integrated pharmacy benefit management
services, including network-pharmacy claims processing home
delivery pharmacy care, specialty pharmacy care, specialty benefit
management, benefit-design consultation, drug utilization review,
formulary management, and medical and drug data analysis
services. Express Scripts also distributes a full range of
biopharmaceutical products and provides extensive cost-management
and patient-care services
Media Contacts:
Phil
Blando
202-258-4978
PJBlando@express-scripts.com
Jennifer Luddy
908-794-9226
Jennifer_Luddy@express-scripts.com
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SOURCE Express Scripts