Health Insurance Daily

Pharmacy Benefit Managers Fading As Generic Drug Use Grows

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), hired by employers to manage prescription drug purchasing, have long been criticized for not passing on to clients the rebates they receive from drug manufacturers.

After all, PBMs are in business because they save their clients money.

Recently, many PBMs have agreed to pass along rebates on brand-name drugs to customers. Yet such gains are too little too late, according to some health care benefits experts.

Drug consumption is moving away from brand-name drugs—the source of rebates—and toward generics. From 2005 to 2009, some of the most widely used brand-name drugs, from Allegra to Zocor, have become or will become available as generics. Companies are enticing employees to use the cheaper generic drugs by making co-pays for brand names more expensive.

To read this article in its entirety click on Generics.

posted by Mike @ 2:30 PM