Plan Sponsors Saving on Prescription Drugs Amidst Rising Costs and Inflation

Earlier this month, Navitus, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM), released its eighth annual drug trend report that reveals how plan sponsors are saving on prescription drugs amidst rising costs and inflation. The report shows that 29% of Navitus customers paid less for prescription drugs in 2023 than they did the previous year, despite inflation and the rise of expensive GLP-1 medications. 

In the report, Navitus shares that their ability to out-perform industry trends in rising drug costs is the result of their, “strategic approach that focused on delivering the lowest net cost to clients, 100% transparency on drug costs and a people-first mission.” 

According to the report, new clients realized an average of 11% reduction in costs compared to the previous year, with a different PBM. 

Prescription drug spending was impacted by a number of industry-wide trends over the past year including rising drug costs and utilization in the non-specialty category, clinical advancements and the introduction of higher-cost specialty drugs and the availability of lower cost alternatives. 

The rise of costly GLP-1s, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro were the biggest contributors to trend growth in 2023. In order to combat these rising costs, Navitus took advantage of a diagnosis check program to help combat off-label use of GLP-1s, mitigating 30% of prescriptions being filled without an appropriate diagnosis. 

Additionally, the launch of biosimilar products for Humira reduced drug spend for clients with utilizing members. Navitus expects that the rising use of injectable biologic drugs will lower costs in 2024 as “utilization shifts drive the industry towards more competitive drug pricing.”

“The rising drug costs and growing demand for GLP-1s were partially offset by lower-cost alternatives including specialty biosimilars and generics,” said Brent Eberle, RPh, Chief Pharmacy Officer at Navitus. “Plans are depending on Navitus to provide transparency to drug cost to help them make informed decisions and weed out needless expenses so they can pass along savings to their employees and members.”