- Actions aim to lower patient out-of-pocket costs
- Expands transparency for both patients and those who provide
their benefits
BLOOMFIELD, Conn., Jan. 29,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Evernorth Health Services, a
subsidiary of The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI), today announced several
steps it is taking to improve costs and transparency around
pharmacy benefits. These changes aim to help patients benefit
directly from Express Scripts' negotiations to lower the cost of
prescription drugs. They will also enhance transparency about these
negotiations for both patients and those who provide their
benefits.
"We know that health care and prescription drugs need to be more
affordable, and that coverage needs to be more transparent and less
complex," said Eric Palmer,
President and CEO of Evernorth Health Services. "While we advocate
for the lowest costs for the more than 100 million Americans we
serve, we know there are times where the system falls short. We
hear the concerns of patients, plan sponsors and the public, and
are making these commitments as one step to do more to help
patients get their medications at the lowest cost and improve
transparency to enable more informed choices."
Today, Evernorth is implementing protections to help lower costs
for patients at the pharmacy counter.
Helping All Patients Benefit Directly from Express Scripts' Drug
Price Negotiations
While today more than 80% of Express Scripts' patients pay less
than $100 per year for their
prescriptions, for some out-of-pocket costs still remain too high.
This is especially true for patients in high deductible plans who
may face the high list prices of medicines set by
manufacturers.
Evernorth is implementing protections to lower out-of-pocket
costs for more patients. These actions are designed to help ensure
patients receive the benefit of the savings Express Scripts
generates through its negotiations. Going forward, Evernorth's
standard offerings will provide the following protections:
1. Patients will be protected from paying
the high list price of their medication, and will instead get
access to the lower price negotiated by Express Scripts.
2. Patients in employer-sponsored plans will have improved
financial predictability, receiving the benefit of the savings on
medication costs that Express Scripts negotiates, if they don't
already. This will be particularly meaningful to patients during
their deductible phase when the cost of medications can be at their
highest.
Providing Patients and Plan Sponsors with New Pharmacy Benefits
Summaries and Disclosures
Express Scripts is also improving transparency through new
reports which will:
3. Provide patients a personalized summary
that details each patient's annual total prescription drug costs,
including medication prices, negotiated savings inclusive of
discounts and rebates, plan paid amounts, and total savings.
4. Provide plan sponsors with an annual standardized report
disclosing costs and pharmacy claim-level reporting, which will
create additional transparency beyond the routine reporting and
insights Express Scripts already delivers.
"It is our goal to always exceed patient expectations for better
health and to ensure there are no surprises at the pharmacy
counter," said Adam Kautzner, Pharm.D., President of Evernorth
Care Management and Express Scripts. "We want to do our part to
lead change so patients can afford their medications and understand
how their pharmacy benefits are working for them."
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
Justine
Sessions
860-810-6523
justine.sessions@evernorth.com
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SOURCE Evernorth
