Sponsors push patients to pay for brand name drugs

Employee Benefit News, October, 2003 by Craig Gunsauley

Employers are wielding effective new weapons in the war on health care costs by pushing patients to increase utilization of lower-cost generic drugs and mail-order pharmacy programs, or else pay the difference out of pocket.

One-third of employers working with consultants at The Hay Group in Philadelphia have plan provisions mandating the use of generics when appropriate, generating savings in prescription drug costs of 10% to 30%, says senior consultant Peggy Schubert.

Hay finds that 10% of respondents it surveys also mandate that patients use mail-order pharmacy for medications that address chronic conditions, or pay the difference. Some 60% of Hay's sample is self-insured companies with 1,000 or more employees.

"With drug costs continuing to rise, you're...

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