Members with employer-sponsored insurance saw
about a 1% decrease in out-of-pocket costs for their
prescription medicines last year, paying an average of $15.10 for a 30-day supply
ST.
LOUIS, Mo., June 20,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Express Scripts, the pharmacy
benefits services business of Evernorth, a subsidiary of The
Cigna Group (NYSE: CI), today released research spotlighting
that members with employer-provided coverage paid less at the
pharmacy counter for prescription drugs in 2023 compared to the
previous year. On average, members with employer-sponsored drug
coverage paid $15.10 out-of-pocket
for a 30-day prescription in 2023, a decrease of about 1% compared
to 2022. While drug manufacturers raised prices for 60% of branded
drugs in 2023, data confirm that Express Scripts lowered out of
pocket costs for these members as a result of its negotiations with
pharmaceutical manufacturers and innovative solutions, even as
consumer prices for goods and services increased in the United States from 2022 to 2023.
"Express Scripts continues to bring down medication costs for
patients," said Adam Kautzner, Pharm.D., president of
Evernorth Care Management and Express Scripts. "Despite rising
costs of prescription drugs and inflation, our commercial members'
average cost share has increased by no more than 1.1% year over
year since 2020."
On average, members with employer-sponsored drug
coverage paid $15.10 out of pocket
for a 30-day prescription in 2023. For the entirety of 2023,
four in five Express Scripts members – 81% – spent less than
$250 out of pocket for their
medicines, or about $20 per month.
Nearly two-thirds of members spent even less, even as the median
annual list price for a new drug reached $300,000 last year, according to a Reuters
analysis, up from $222,000 a year
earlier.
Additionally, Express Scripts' innovative programs keep costs
down for the millions of commercial customers it serves, including
by:
- Capping out-of-pocket costs for people living with
diabetes: Insulin and other medications that treat diabetes
carry an average wholesale price of $438.07 per month – almost $15 a day. Over 11 million Express Scripts
members living with diabetes can access participating insulin and
other diabetes medications for $25
for up to a 34-day supply (or $75 for
a 90-day supply) through the Patient Assurance Program.
- $92M in savings on diabetes
medications: The Patient Assurance Program saved plans and
patients $92 million in total last
year for insulin and other diabetes medications.
Kautzner said, "Across disease areas, Express Scripts holds drug
manufacturers accountable for their prices and uses generic and
biosimilar competition to help ensure patients who need these
medications can afford them at the pharmacy counter."
About Evernorth Health Services
Evernorth Health
Services creates pharmacy, care and benefits solutions to improve
health and increase vitality. We relentlessly innovate to make the
prediction, prevention and treatment of illness and disease more
accessible to millions of people. Evernorth capabilities are
powered by our businesses, including Express Scripts, Express
Scripts® Pharmacy, Accredo, eviCore and MDLIVE, along with holistic
Evernorth platforms and solutions that move people and
organizations forward. All Evernorth solutions are serviced and
provided by or through operating affiliates of Evernorth Health, a
wholly owned subsidiary of The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI), or
third-party partners. Learn more at evernorth.com.
Media Contact
Madeline
Ziomek
(202) 615-1473
Madeline.ziomek@evernorth.com
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SOURCE Express Scripts