ST. LOUIS, Aug. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Express
Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) today announced the launch of its Diabetes
Care Value Program℠, the industry's most comprehensive approach to
improve pharmacy care while controlling plan costs for people with
diabetes.
The new program – part of the Express Scripts SafeGuardRx℠ suite
of pharmacy solutions – combines a novel quality-based pharmacy
network, a holistic approach to diabetes patient care and cost
management, and financial guarantees that will significantly reduce
participating plans' anticipated increase in diabetes-drug spend
for 2017.
"Diabetes is wreaking havoc on patients, and it is also a
runaway driver of cost for payers," said Glen Stettin, MD, Senior Vice President and
Chief Innovation Officer at Express Scripts. "Our Diabetes Care
Value Program helps our clients and diabetes patients prevail over
the cost and care challenges created by this terrible disease."
Delivering Guaranteed Spending Caps and Driving Down Diabetes
Drug Spending
As part of the Diabetes Care Value Program, Express Scripts is
guaranteeing per-patient spending caps that will result in
participating plans experiencing an average increase in diabetes
drug-spend in 2017 that is approximately half of what the industry
is currently forecasting for U.S. commercial payers. As reported in
Express Scripts' 2015 Drug Trend Report, U.S. diabetes
prescription drug spending increased 14 percent in 2015 and – for
those plans not participating in Diabetes Care Value Program – is
expected to grow an additional 18 percent through 2016 and another
17.7 percent in 2017.
"We plan to increase medication adherence, broaden insulin
options for patients, and bend down the cost curve of what is
currently the costliest class of traditional prescription drugs,"
said Dr. Stettin. "As we have done with our other SafeGuardRx
solutions, Express Scripts will assume financial risk for drug
spending in excess of the caps to protect our clients from
skyrocketing costs and budget uncertainty."
Introducing a Quality-Based Pharmacy Network
The Diabetes Care Value Program features a network of preferred
pharmacies that will deliver on a set of quality metrics, including
high medication adherence levels for patients with diabetes.
Members of participating plans will be able to receive 90-day
supplies of their diabetes maintenance medications from more than
10,000 pharmacies across the United
States – including via home delivery at the Express Scripts
Pharmacy℠, at all Walgreens pharmacies, and at more than 1,200
independent retail pharmacies.
"As an independent pharmacy benefit manager, we have the
flexibility to work with any and all pharmacies to achieve our
clients' specific care, cost and geographic access objectives,"
said Dr. Stettin. "With our emphasis on achieving quality metrics,
this new diabetes pharmacy network ensures our retail partners are
aligned and focused on providing the care that people with diabetes
need."
Applying a Holistic Approach to Diabetes Care and Medication
Adherence
All patients enrolled in the program, regardless of which
network pharmacy they choose for filling a prescription, can access
additional clinical counseling from the diabetes pharmacists within
the Express Scripts Diabetes Therapeutic Resource Center℠.
The Diabetes Care Value Program is projected to boost the
average medication adherence rate for enrolled patients by 5%,
reducing downstream health complications and healthcare costs.
Currently, $4,690 per diabetes
patient is spent each year on medical expenses that could have been
avoided if patients had taken their diabetes medications as
prescribed.
"Nearly 9 of 10 people with diabetes also have high blood
pressure or high cholesterol, and one out of every four is
currently taking an antidepressant," said Dr. Stettin. "Our
Diabetes Care Value Program surrounds each person with the
specialized knowledge and support needed to manage increasingly
complex therapies that treat diabetes and related conditions."
Offering Broader Basal Insulin Options for Physicians and
Patients
In conjunction with the announcement of the Diabetes Care Value
Program, Express Scripts is also announcing that its 2017 National
Preferred Formulary will include multiple preferred basal insulins.
Pending market entry later this year for the country's first
follow-on insulin, Basaglar® (insulin glargine), Express
Scripts plans to add Basaglar as a preferred product for the
National Preferred Formulary, alongside the originator product
Lantus® (insulin glargine).
"Our bold actions have changed the marketplace dynamic in such a
way that we can prefer multiple products on our formulary while
delivering discounts to our clients typically associated only with
exclusive formulary placement," said Dr. Stettin. "Physicians will
have more choice, fewer patients will be disrupted from their
existing therapies, and our clients will realize significant
savings."
The Express Scripts SafeGuardRx Solutions
The Diabetes Care Value Program, which will be implemented
March 1, 2017, is the fifth and
latest addition to the Express Scripts SafeGuardRx suite of custom
solutions:
- The Hepatitis Cure Value Program® successfully lowered the cost
of curative hepatitis C treatments by nearly 50% and opened up
access to previously untreated patients. It continues to deliver
high cure rates and savings.
- The Cholesterol Care Value Program℠ uses a rigorous clinical
review process and specialist pharmacist support through the
Accredo® specialty pharmacy to ensure that the new PCSK9 inhibitors
are accessible when clinically appropriate, while also protecting
plan sponsors from incurring unnecessary cost for the majority of
patients with high cholesterol who can be successfully treated with
more affordable statins that are proven effective in preventing
heart attacks and strokes.
- The Oncology Care Value Program℠ introduced indication-based
formulary pricing for the first time to help better correlate a
drug's price to the value it is likely to provide a patient.
- The Express Scripts Inflation Protection Program is shielding
participating plans from the full cost impact of excessive
year-over-year price increases on brand drugs.
About Express Scripts
Express Scripts puts medicine within reach of tens of millions
of people by aligning with plan sponsors, taking bold action and
delivering patient-centered care to make better health more
affordable and accessible.
Headquartered in St. Louis,
Express Scripts provides integrated pharmacy benefit management
services, including network-pharmacy claims processing, home
delivery pharmacy care, specialty pharmacy care, specialty benefit
management, benefit-design consultation, drug utilization review,
formulary management, and medical and drug data analysis
services. Express Scripts also distributes a full range of
biopharmaceutical products and provides extensive cost-management
and patient-care services.
For more information, visit Lab.Express-Scripts.com or follow
@ExpressScripts on Twitter.
MEDIA CONTACT:
David Whitrap
Office: 314-684-6514
Mobile: 314-517-3605
Email: dwhitrap@express-scripts.com
INVESTOR CONTACT:
Ben Bier
Office: 314-810-3115
Email: investor.relations@express-scripts.com
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