Problem
Many factors are outside of your plan’s control when it comes to managing prescription drug costs. While larger organizations can absorb fluctuations easier, a major change to a self-insured benefit plan of a small to mid-sized business can be catastrophic if not managed correctly.
A 200-life self-insured employer group recently transitioned their pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services to Pharmacy Benefit Dimensions (PBD) in search of affordable, high-quality pharmacy benefit services. When a high-cost claimant using a specialty medication arrived on their plan, they were faced with the challenge of extreme, unexpected cost increases they were not prepared to handle.
Client Overview
Industry: Property Management
Group Size: 200
Plan Type: Self-Funded, Prescription Drug Plan
Solution
Our clinical team dug in, aligning the group with a value-based formulary that favors low-cost generic alternatives over high-cost brand name drugs while still maintaining high quality patient. Through strong contract management with pharmacies and manufacturers along with utilization management procedures, we were able to provide this group even greater savings.
Our implemented cost containment strategies, including appropriate utilization management, helped this group positively achieve balanced financial and clinical goals even with this new, unexpected high-cost claimant.
By leveraging PBD’s unique relationship with our sister company and specialty pharmacy provider Reliance Rx, we were able to manage targeted disease states and cost through innovative programs like the Specialty Copay Assistance Program (SCAP) and disease-specific clinical programs. Reliance Rx also provided comprehensive monitoring and outreach programs to help deliver improved specialty drug outcomes for this group.
Results
Even when this unforeseen high-cost claimant – whose claim spend totaled 14.3% of the group’s overall plan spend – was added to the plan, PBD’s thorough and targeted approach to cost containment helped this group realize an additional 35% in savings to their overall plan spend compared to the year prior. While the member count of the group remained the same from the previous year, PBD also significantly reduced the group’s per member per month (PMPM) costs from $70.50 to $44.17.
Through proactive efforts, strong formulary management practices and integration with our specialty pharmacy partner, this group benefited from PBD’s unwavering commitment to help our clients achieve positive clinical outcomes while maximizing value at the lowest net cost even when unexpected things happen.