February 2, 2016 - Curant Health COO, Marc O'Connor, in Managed Healthcare Executive - The continuous increase in medication spending, especially spending related to specialty drug costs, has been well-documented and appropriately lambasted in some circumstances. According to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Truven Health Analytics, prescription drug spending accounts for 10% of national spending on health: $300 billion. Moreover, drug spending in employer health plans is nearly double that share, 19%.
Price gouging by pharmaceutical executives with little to no experience in clinical care does little to ameliorate the situation, except to shine a light on the desperate need for industry alignment among payers (especially Medicare) and pharmaceutical manufacturers. I am certain the notorious Martin Shkreli’s appearance before Congress scheduled for February 4, 2016 will be must-see-TV for many.
Nevertheless, here are the top ways you can impact medication spending while improving patient outcomes at the same time.
1. Done properly, at-risk negotiations with pharma manufacturers should generate positive outcomes for managed care executives.
In November 2015, pharma’s at-risk day in the United States arrived with the announcement of the Harvard Pilgrim deal with Amgen for the PCSK9 inhibitor Repatha. The gist of the agreement is that Harvard Pilgrim will recoup additional rebates from Amgen if patients on Repatha do not achieve specific cholesterol targets for various patient groups.
To read Marc's full article, visit Managed Healthcare Executive.
To learn more about Curant Health, contact Kristin Lindsey, Marketing Director, at klindsey@curanthealth.com.