More employers using third party managers to save on drug programs
costs: buck consultants survey
New york--(business wire)--a new nationwide survey shows that a majority of employers are using third-party pharmacy benefit managers (pbms) to process and pay prescription drug claims. the survey, released today by buck consultants, a xerox company (nyse: xrx), indicates companies are turning to pbms because they offer better drug prices. the survey indicates fifty-seven percent of employers are now using pbms compared to 47 percent in 2009. with 67 percent of respondents citing pricing as ‘highly important,’ this rates as the top reason employers opt for pbms — which are able to offer discounts and rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers. pbm customer service is rated ‘highly important’ among 65 percent of survey respondents. buck’s “prescription drug benefit survey” is the firm’s third survey on this topic. the survey identifies strategies employers use to manage their prescription drug benefits and costs. more than 220 organizations participated in the survey, representing a broad range of industries and more than 2.5 million full-time employees. “strong competition among pbms for employer business has created a buyer’s market for pbm pricing, and we expect this competition will intensify as health care reform is implemented,” said michael jacobs, principal and national clinical practice leader at buck consultants. “therefore, employers can be aggressive in their negotiations with pbms.” prescription drug coverage nearly all (96 percent) respondents provide active employees with prescription drug coverage. fifty percent of respondents offer retirees prescription drug plans, and 75 percent of these employers intend to continue this benefit to medicare-eligible retirees over the next three years. the top reasons given for providing this coverage are: the positive impact on medical claims, business competitiveness, attracting and retaining key employees, and the belief that it’s the right thing to do. benefits and cost management strategies pharmacy benefit costs continue to increase and, on average, currently represent more than 15 percent of employers’ total health care costs. according to the survey, the most common prescription drug management initiatives in use today are: formularies (90%), utilization management programs (78%), and large cost-sharing differentials between cost-sharing tiers (77%). interestingly, eaps (90%), disease management programs (84%), and wellness programs (80%) are also considered by employers to be tools that help manage prescription drug benefit costs and effectiveness. specialty drugs specialty medications, used to treat chronic catastrophic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis and hepatitis c, are typically used by only one percent or less of covered employees, but represent 15 percent or more of pharmacy plan costs. these specialty medications are complex drugs that are often self-injected or infused and can cost more than $2,000 for a 30-day prescription. despite the rising cost of these drugs, 33 percent of respondents did not know the percent of overall drug spend attributed to specialty medications. the majority of employers (58%) use the same participant cost-sharing for specialty drugs as used for other prescription drugs. “specialty drugs will be the major driver of pharmacy cost increases over the next three to five years,” said jacobs. “we anticipate specialty drugs will represent upwards of 30 percent of drug costs within the next three or four years. considering the double-digit annual cost increases we’ve seen recently, it’s clear that more needs to be done to manage the costs of these medications moving forward.” the most common components of specialty drug management programs are: utilization management (45%) centralized distribution (39%) coordination with case managers (35%) step therapy protocols (34%) about buck consultants buck consultants is a leader in human resource and benefits consulting with more than 1,500 professionals worldwide. founded in 1916 to advise clients in establishing and funding some of the nation’s first public and private retirement programs, buck is an innovator in the areas of retirement benefits, health and welfare programs, talent and human resource management, compensation, and employee communication. news and other information about buck consultants are available at http://www.buckconsultants.com. buck is an independent subsidiary of acs, a xerox company. about xerox xerox corporation is a $22 billion leading global enterprise for business process and document management. through its broad portfolio of technology and services, xerox provides the essential back-office support that clears the way for clients to focus on what they do best: their real business. headquartered in norwalk, conn., xerox provides leading-edge document technology, services, software and genuine xerox supplies for graphic communication and office printing environments of any size. through acs, a xerox company, which xerox acquired in february 2010, xerox also offers extensive business process outsourcing and it outsourcing services, including data processing, hr benefits management, finance support, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. the 134,000 people of xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries. for more information, visit http://www.xerox.com, http://news.xerox.com, http://www.realbusiness.com or http://www.acs-inc.com. for investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor. note: buck’s “prescription drug benefit survey” is available at no cost to the media by contacting ed gadowski at 201-902-2825. it is available to other interested parties for $100 from buck’s global survey resources, 50 fremont street, 12th floor, san francisco, ca 94105. telephone 1-800-887-0509. it also can be ordered online at http://www.bucksurveys.com. to receive rss news feeds, visit http://news.xerox.com/pr/xerox/rss.aspx. for open commentary, industry perspectives and views from events visit http://twitter.com/xeroxcorp, http://twitter.com/xeroxoffice, http://twitter.com/xeroxproduction, http://twitter.com/servicesatxerox, http://twitter.com/xeroxevents, http://www.xerox.com/blogs, http://www.xerox.com/podcasts. xerox®, xerox and design® are trademarks of xerox corporation in the united states and/or other countries. photos/multimedia gallery available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6762459&lang=en.
