Navitus Health Solutions Partners with Sempre Health to Help Members Save on & Adhere to Medications

Members pay less by filling chronic disease prescriptions consistently and on time

MADISON, Wis., July 28, 2020 – As plan sponsors continuously look for ways to reduce medication costs and improve member health, Navitus Health Solutions, a full pass-through pharmacy benefits management company, announced today that it is offering a new SMS-based program that will allow eligible Navitus members to earn discounts on their prescription copays by taking their medications as prescribed.

Medication costs can be a barrier to patients taking their medication as directed by their doctor and pharmacist. In fact, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, medication is not taken as prescribed 50 percent of the time, and one in four Americans say it is difficult to afford their medications.^1,2 As a result, it is estimated that non-adherence to medication leads to $100-$290 billion in direct and indirect costs annually.³

To improve adherence and affordability for chronic disease medications, Navitus is partnering with Sempre Health, to offer point-of-sale copay discounts and an SMS-based engagement program to incentivize its members. Sempre’s program lowers copays when members fill their prescriptions consistently and on time, reminds members when it’s time for a refill and can even submit refill requests on the member’s behalf.

“Cost and medication adherence are two of the largest challenges in health care,” said Navitus SVP, and Chief Pharmacy Officer Brent Eberle. “We’re excited to offer our clients an innovative technology-based approach that enables their members to save on copays for specific drugs, when they take their medication as prescribed.”

Navitus will introduce Sempre to clients as a free program in August 2020. As members enroll, their copay discounts will be immediately available on eligible medications at the pharmacy they normally use. If members elect to refill elsewhere, they can show their pharmacist a text from Sempre to take advantage of the program discounts. Each time members refill their eligible prescription on time, their discounts can grow—saving them an average of 45% per year on their annual prescription costs and improving member adherence by 15-19%.

“Like Navitus, Sempre is committed to improving member health and making prescriptions more affordable,” said Anurati Mathur, founder and CEO of Sempre Health. “By providing escalating savings directly to patients, Sempre engages and incentivizes those who prioritize medication adherence and make healthy lifestyle choices. Partnerships like this with Navitus allow us to bring those savings to more people throughout the country, especially while COVID-19 continues to put pressure on our health system and create uncertainty in patients’ lives.”

To learn more about Navitus’ comprehensive suite of programs and services for members and plan sponsors, visit www.navitus.com.

¹U.S Food & Drug Administration: Why You Need to Take Your Medications as Prescribed or Instructed https://www.fda.gov/drugs/special-features/why-you-need-to-take-your-medications-prescribed-or-instructed#:~text=The%20High%20Cost%20of%20Not%20in%20this%20country
Original source active as of publication date. For current and comparable data, please see: Montero A, Hamel L, Brodie M, Kearney A. Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs. Kaiser Family Foundation. Published March 01, 2024. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/
²Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation: Data Note: Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs (https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/data-note-americans-challenges-health-care-costs/)
³NEJM: Taking Our Medicine — Improving Adherence in the Accountability Era (https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp1307084)

More About BRENT EBERLE

As Senior Vice President, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Brent oversees Navitus’ health strategies division, which is responsible for clinical and population health initiatives, drug utilization review programs, formulary and rebate management, and specialty pharmacy operations.