MedBen Rx Blog
Generic Drugs: Effective and Cost-Efficient
As the prescribing of generic drugs has become more commonplace, most consumers have come to see that these medications work just as well as their pricier band-name equivalents. Indeed, when a generic alternative is available, MedBen clients see a 98% average...
MedBen Rx Solutions Put Transparency Up Front
In an effort to improve drug pricing transparency, the Department of Health and Human Services recently released a proposal requiring drug companies to include their list prices in consumer ads. But MedBen already provides far more transparent Rx solutions. Drug...
MedBen Fights Back Against PBM Spread Pricing
Spread pricing is a little-discussed aspect of prescription drug pricing, but its impact on pharmacy plan costs can be huge… and it’s why MedBen has responded with new pharmacy programs designed to remove spread pricing from the cost equation altogether. Simply...
PBMs, PSAs, and Your Pharmacy Costs
To people outside the health care industry, the role of the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) can be a bit unclear. Simply stated, PBMs act as intermediaries between insurers (or, in the case of self-funded plans, employers), drug companies, pharmacies, and consumers....
“New” Drug Pricing Tools? Not for MedBen
A Managed Healthcare Executive article spotlights "New Drug Pricing Tools Could Save Money" -- among them, a recently launched "real-time benefits tool" that shows out-of-pocket costs for medications based on a patient's plan benefits. Sound like a great idea... which...
MedBen Rx: Lessons in Savings and Transparency
A recent Forbes.com headline refers to U.S. prescription drug pricing practices as "Lessons in Obfuscation." Unlike most products that have clearly defined prices, prescription drugs start with an acquisition cost paid by the pharmacy, which it then inflates and...
MedBen Rx Site Offers Two Unique Saving Solutions
Because prescription drug costs continue to play an increasingly large role in health care spending growth, MedBen has been working overtime to find saving solutions. Recently, we developed not one, but two new pharmacy programs to help clients lower their Rx...
MedBen Rx, Truly Transparent
If you’re a MedBen client, you already know that 100% of all paid manufacturer rebates go back to our clients. But true Rx transparency also demands that consumers know what they're paying for their medications – and so we provide that, too. Simply by logging into our...
Government Talks about Rx Costs, But MedBen Already Has Solutions
During recent testimony to a Senate committee, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar floated the idea of eliminating the rebates that drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) use in price negotiations. As noted on Bloomberg.com, "PBMs have been...
MedBen Rx Strategies Help Employers Face Pricing Challenges
A recent Washington Post article highlights the machinations that drug companies will use to ensure that insurers and other private-sector sources pay for their products, rather than price-controlled public services like Medicare. One common manufacturer practice is...
Rx Rebate Guarantees? Beware!
At a recent MedBen University event, MedBen Vice President of Sales & Marketing Brian Fargus warned attendees against drug rebate guarantees that promise a lot but deliver little… and end up costing the employer more. “Some of the larger health care companies focus on...
MedBen Rx Advocate Closes the Price Gap
Newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says he wants to see greater transparency in drug pricing. In an address to the Federation of American Hospitals last month, Azar noted that “in both healthcare services and pharmaceuticals, the huge gaps...