Companies are dropping the big three PBMs like hot potatoes and switching to alternative options at higher rates than before, according to a survey by the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. Nearly half of employers surveyed in May and June were using a PBM other than CVS Caremark, Optum Rx, or Express Scripts, a significant jump from the year before. Over half of those still working with the vertically consolidated giants are considering nixing their contracts. Employers, it seems, are finally catching on to the fact that their contracts with PBMs are raw deals.
Aside from cutting ties to the big three, employers are also pushing them to be more transparent with their claims data and promise not to engage in spread pricing. Those with better access to the claims data, the survey said, are using more high-value purchasing strategies.
NCPA has spent years pointing out to lawmakers and the public the ways PBMs distort markets, pad their profits, and crush competition. We're glad to see employers are catching on.
Read the survey here, or a summary of its findings in this article from Axios.
