Keeping medications affordable for members

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) like CVS Caremark are working to make drugs more affordable for plan sponsors and their members. It is important that members are not overburdened by out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for their prescription medications — because when people can afford their medications, they are more likely to take them, helping reduce the chance of costly disease progression or health complications down the line.

Our overall strategy to keep costs low includes providing options for plan sponsors and members. We're proud to say that we’ve driven a 24.7 percent reduction in member out-of-pocket costs over the past six years. Members bear less cost burden for the drugs they rely on to stay healthy.

Joshua Fredell, PharmD, discusses the importance of member affordability.

We work with our clients to craft a wide range of plan designs that offer common and preventive drugs at low or no copay and help ensure members can get medications at low costs. A multi-faceted plan design strategy to reduce member cost share may include:

• Formulary and UM techniques
• $0 copays
• Point-of-sale rebates
• Copay assistance programs
• Patient financial resource support facilitated by pharmacies
• Caremark Cost Saver
• Preventive Drug List
• Digital tools to help providers and patients easily identify low-cost options

As a PBM, we know that prioritizing member affordability requires innovation, both in our products and our plan designs. From a product perspective, we are investing in transparency solutions to help members compare prescription costs and make informed decisions.