MedBen Rx Blog
Disparate PBM Pricing Practices Put Independent Pharmacies at Risk of Closure
KFF Health News reports on the disparity between pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) payments to large pharmacy chains compared to small drugstores: “[An American Pharmacy Cooperative] analysis early this year showed chains were paid well beyond the family business...
Rise in Specialty Drug Spend Spurs Innovative Cost-Saving Solutions
Specialty drugs continue to drive up pharmacy costs, accounting for over 50% of total drug spend for many self-funded health plans, despite being used by a small percentage of patients. But pharmaceutical and administrative solutions are available to help reduce that...
The Best Quality Care Starts Early, Says Harden at Conference
On October 1, MedBen Chairman and CEO Kurt Harden spoke on the topic "A Third-Party Payer’s Approach to Providing Quality Care While Minimizing Cost" at the 2024 Ventegra Client Conference. Ventegra serves as MedBen Rx's pharmacy benefits partner. "As a third-party...
Harden, Yu Highlight Genomic Testing Benefits at Healthcare Innovation Conference
MedBen Chairman & CEO Kurt Harden and Profero Team Director of Precision Medicine Cynthia Yu were featured presenters at the 11th Annual Sherrill-Morgan Healthcare Innovation Conference on September 18th. Harden and Yu spoke on the topic of genomic testing — what...
Humira Costliest Drug for Self-Funded Plans, But GLP-1s are Gaining Ground
Humira continued to be the costliest prescription drug for self-funded health plans in 2023 by a comfortable margin, according to a recent Milliman commercial drug trends review. Used to treat a variety of conditions from Crohn’s to rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic...
FDA Rejects Psychedelic Drug MDMA As Treatment for PTSD
The potential for psychedelic drugs to serve legitimate medical purposes has become a growing topic of discussion. On August 9, the Food and Drug Administration rejected midomafetamine (MDMA), better known as ecstasy, as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder....
Greater Biosimilar Use Could Save U.S. $133 Billion in 2025
From a STAT opinion piece by Juliana M. Reed, executive director of the Biosimilars Forum: "Biologic medicines are some of the most important drugs in the world. They are also among the most expensive. Biosimilars are FDA-approved treatments that are similar to...
FTC Accuses Major PBMs of Overcharging Clients
In an interim report released on July 9, the Federal Trade Commission charges major pharmacy benefit managers of engaging in business practices designed to benefit their own bottom lines at the expense of clients. The FTC report, subtitled "The Powerful Middlemen...
Proposed Biosimilar Policy Change Great News for MedBen Rx Clients
The Food and Drug Administration is considering a change to its biosimilar policy that would greatly speed up their approval process – which, if enacted, would be a big win for MedBen Rx clients who are already reducing their prescription drug spend through...
Employers Weighing the Obesity Drug Question
While most health plans do not currently cover obesity medications like Wegovy and Zepbound – and MedBen Rx recommends clients continue not to do so – constant media coverage means the calls to do so will only grow. Therefore, employers are increasingly considering...
Freeman Retires after 36 Years with MedBen; Harden Elected Chairman, Fraker Named President
At the recent Annual Meeting for MedBen, Doug Freeman, who for over 36 years served as President and later Chairman of Medical Benefits Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MedBen), retired from the Board of Directors. At the same meeting, Kurt Harden, previously MedBen's...
MedBen Client 2023 Federal CAA Required Pharmacy Submission Complete
You might remember that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) requires all health plans to file a pharmacy data report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Each year, the Prescription Drug Data Collection reporting (RxDC)...