CVS Kept Drug Price Growth Nearly Flat in 2017

From RADAR on Drug Benefits

Despite pharmaceutical manufacturer drug price increases of nearly 10%, CVS Health Corp’s PBM Caremark reported nearly flat year-over-year drug price growth at 0.2%. Overall, 42% of payer clients spent less on their pharmacy benefit plan in 2017 than they had spent in 2016.

According to the company’s annual drug trend report, in 2017, its PBM strategies reduced the drug trend for commercial clients to 1.9% per member per year: 0.2% drug price growth plus 1.7% utilization growth. This is the lowest trend in five years.

Generics were the top drivers of utilization growth, with Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium), followed by Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) as the most widely used drugs, CVS says.

“Our generic dispensing rate reached 86.1 percent, and played a significant role in keeping drug price growth down,” CVS Health’s annual trend report says. “Brand drugs, both traditional and specialty, accounted for only 14 percent of prescriptions dispensed, but 69 percent of...spend.”

Its report also shows that more affordable drugs helped more members stay on therapy, improving adherence to the highest level in seven years. CVS’s per-member per-month out-of-pocket costs dropped slightly to $11.89 in 2017, down from $11.99 in 2016.

In addition, for clients aligned with CVS’s managed formularies, drug prices declined in 2017 by 0.1%.

Recently, Express Scripts Holding Co. reported a general slowdown in drug spend for most medications except specialty pharmaceuticals. Prime Therapeutics LLC also touted negative drug trends across its commercial, Medicare and Medicaid lines of business.

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