CVS CVS Health Corporation

   By Austen Hufford 
 

CVS Health Corp. (CVS) said it is launching a tool that will help patients and pharmacists more easily find cheaper drug options.

The move is the latest example of a healthcare company publically working to cap consumers' drug costs. Health insurers Aetna Inc. (AET) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) said recently that they would give drugmaker rebates directly to consumers. CVS is working to buy Aetna.

In recent years, the opaque system surrounding the cost of medicine and sharply increasing drug prices have come under public and government scrutiny.

"We are committed to finding the right drug at the lowest possible cost for patients to ensure they are able to access and stay on the medications they need," said Thomas Moriarty, who is CVS's chief policy officer.

Using the new tool, retail pharmacists will be able to review a patient's prescription regimen, drug history and insurance plan information to determine how to save them out-of-pocket costs. For example, the tool could show a generic alternative or tell the pharmacist if a different prescription length is cheaper.

A similar tool will also be available to doctors, who will be shown similar covered drugs. CVS said that prescribers accessing real-time benefits information switched their patient's drug from a noncovered drug to a drug that was covered 85% of the time.

Write to Austen Hufford at Austen.Hufford@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 11, 2018 08:22 ET (12:22 GMT)

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