Humana unit rolls out value pharmacy plan
Humana Pharmacy Solutions, a division of health insurer Humana Inc., has unveiled a pharmacy plan aimed at saving employers money by encouraging consumers to use generic drugs.
The Rx4Value plan is a four-tiered program that offers different member cost-share amounts for preferred generic drugs, low-cost preferred brand-name drugs, high-cost preferred brand-name drugs and specialty drugs.
The plan is being marketed to employers that fund their own health plans. They do not have to have Humana as their medical insurance administrator to use Rx4Value for their pharmacy benefits plan, Humana said in a news release.
“The design will encourage people to use lower-cost alternative prescription drugs, driving savings for everyone,” William Fleming, vice president of Humana Pharmacy Solutions, said in the release. “Our experience has shown that about 85 percent of members who are taking a drug that would receive an allowance will move to a lower-cost alternative.”
The plan also includes a $15 allowance for non-preferred brand-name drugs no fax cash loans. The plan member pays the difference between the allowance and Humana’s negotiated price of the drug. Employers can opt to lower the allowance over time to encourage plan members to use preferred drugs, the release said.
The insurer defines preferred drugs as drugs considered to be effective at the least possible cost. It considers non-preferred drugs to be higher-cost drugs that have lower-cost alternatives.
“So many blockbuster brand-name drugs have gone generic that it now makes sense to offer a plan like this,” Fleming said in the release. “Plus, it gives some coverage to those who choose to stay with the non-preferred drugs.”
Louisville-based Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health and supplemental benefits companies, with about 10.3 million medical members and about 7.2 million specialty-benefit members.
Filed under: money by TheDoor