In a way to combat the increasing costs of healthcare, many companies and governments have searched for more affordable employee health insurance plans and found they could save money by simply changing their pharmacy benefits management company. Decatur County Georgia’s Finance Director, Carl Rowland, did the analysis and determined it could save about $55,000 annually with RxPreferred instead of their current provider, CareMark (a subsidiary of CVS Pharmacy). And the county could see savings of as much as $75,000 if they made just a few changes to the current employee health insurance plan.
When an employee has a health insurance plan and needs a prescription, they go to a pharmacy to get it filled. The pharmacist then has to submit the claim to a pharmacy benefits management (PBM) company. The PBM has negotiated certain prices with the pharmacist, or a group of pharmacists, and the PBM pays the claim.
Sounds simple but it’s not, especially when there is a conflict of interest. Some companies own both the pharmacy and the pharmacy benefits management company. That means they are negotiating prices with themselves. It’s one of the main reasons businesses prefer to partner with RxPreferred Benefits. The company is solely owned by independent pharmacists unlike chains, and they practice a strict Zero Conflicts-of-Interest approach, which is one of the reasons why businesses tend to save money.
After reviewing the new pharmacy benefits management contract from RxPreferred, the County Staff Attorney, Brown Moseley said, “We’re ready to give it a try. I can’t see how it could hurt us financially in any way … it’s certainly worth trying.” Moseley also noted that they could opt-out in 30 days if they were not satisfied.
RxPreferred works with covered entities and contract pharmacies of all kinds across the country, helping them positively impact their local communities by building long-standing efficient programs. And, with a 100% HRSA audit pass rate, they have developed enduring relationships with many of the country’s top programs.
Read the original story, “County could save $75K on health insurance,” by Justin Schuver. Published in The Post Searchlight’s Best of Bainbridge section on Friday, October 28, 2011.
