Category: PBMs

MEwens
Electronic prescribing is helping to boost the likelihood that people actually pick up their new medications, as more doctors adopt the new technology.
New research shows that 76.5% of patients pick up their prescriptions at the pharmacy when the doctor e-prescribes, seven percentage points higher than when the old pen-and-pad method is used.
That’s according […]

MEwens
No Benefit: A large study published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association finds annual chest X-rays don’t reduce lung-cancer deaths, the WSJ reports. By contrast, a separate study published last year found that screening current and former heavy smokers with low-dose CT scans did cut the death rate from the […]

MEwens
Defending PBM Combination: The CEOs of pharmacy-benefit managers Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions defended their proposed merger before a House antitrust subcommittee yesterday, pointing to the entrance of new competitors to the market, including UnitedHealth, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Express Scripts Chief Executive George Paz also said the deal wouldn’t make sense […]

MEwens
In Short Supply: Johnson & Johnson is experiencing a shortage of its cancer drug Doxil due to production delays at a contract manufacturer, the WSJ reports. The company is advising doctors not to start new patients on the drug and to consult national treatment guidelines for alternatives. A recent survey found 99.5% of […]

MEwens
All day we’ll be tracking the latest and greatest on Express Scripts’ plans to buy Medco Home Solutions for about $29 billion in cash and stock.
Here’s what our colleagues at the WSJ have been reporting:
Deal Journal reports that investors love the deal. Shares in Express Scripts were up 4.7% to $55.00 in recent […]

MEwens
The married-up Express Scripts/Medco will face off not only against incumbent CVS Caremark, but, it appears, against an emerging new rival: the pharmacy operation of UnitedHealth Group’s Optum health-services unit.
With Medco’s announcement today that it will lose its UnitedHealth contract at the start of 2013, the rationale for selling itself to Express may […]

Anna Wilde Mathews
PBM Deal: Express Scripts announced it will buy rival pharmacy-benefit manager Medco Health Solutions for $29.1 billion in cash and stock, or $71.36 per share — a 28% premium to yesterday’s closing price –the WSJ reports. Express Scripts CEO George Paz will lead the combined company, which will be based in […]

Katherine Hobson
There are tons of reasons why people don’t take the medications they’ve been prescribed, including side effects, cost and complicated drug regimens.
A couple of different approaches to improving adherence are in the news today. The first is Script Your Future, a multi-year public-education campaign spearheaded by the National Consumers League and supported […]

MEwens
Express Scripts, a pharmacy-benefit manager, released its annual drug trend report today, which offered a bit of good news on the health-care cost front: Overall drug spending grew just 3.6% last year, compared to 6.4% the year earlier.
Actual prices for branded medications have kept rising at a fast clip, growing 9.7% last year, […]

MEwens
When consumers pay $4 cash for a prescription, there’s no incentive for pharmacies to go through the hassle of submitting the claim.
Read more this great post here