How employers handle prescription drug costs.How Employers Handle Prescription Drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, Costs Earlier this year, the National Association of Employers on Health Care Action conducted a survey of its membership, including 35 Fortune 500 companies, to determine their prescription drug benefits policies. A 75 percent response rate was achieved. The results are summarized in this article. Double-digit dou·ble-dig·it adj. Being between 10 and 99 percent: double-digit inflation. inflation has returned to employer-sponsored U.S. health plans, and employer prescription drug benefit plans have contributed to this inflationary in·fla·tion·ar·y adj. Of, associated with, or tending to cause inflation: inflationary prices; inflationary policies. Adj. 1. increase. Some corporate members of the National Association of Employers on Health Care Action have experienced increases of up to 100 percent in prescription drug expenses over the past five years. To find out more about the cost of prescription drug benefits to U.S. industry, NAEHCA NAEHCA National Association of Employers on Health Care Action polled its membership on their benefit plans. Health Plan Benefits Seventy-one percent of employers in responding companies have their health benefits, including prescription drug benefits, in self-insured/indemnity plans. Twenty-five percent place benefits in HMOs--either traditional or "point of service." The remaining four percent of the respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. place their benefits in PPOs. Decision Makers Employee benefits directors and managers are the main decision makers for companies' prescription drug plans. Fifty-seven percent of the responding companies use only their employee benefits personnel in prescription drug benefits decisions. The remaining companies also use the corporate medical director, the chief financial officer, and consultants. Cost-Sharing All of the companies responding use copayments or coinsurance A provision of an insurance policy that provides that the insurance company and the insured will apportion between them any loss covered by the policy according to a fixed percentage of the value for which the property, or the person, is insured. for prescription drug plans. The coinsurance is usually 10 to 20 percent. Copayments range from $3 to $6. Sixteen percent of responding companies use incentives for generic drugs generic drug, a drug sold or prescribed under the nonproprietary name of its active ingredients or under a generally descriptive name rather than under a brand or trade name. . Retiree Benefits Ninety-two percent of the companies responding to the survey provide prescription drug benefits to their retirees. This percentage is higher than that in a 1987 survey done by the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC 1. (complexity) NPC - NP-complete. 2. (architecture) NPC - Next Program Counter. ). The NPC reported only 3 of 10 respondents made prescription drug benefits available to their retired workers. The NPC survey sample did include smaller companies, whereas NAEHCA's sample was mainly composed of Fortune 500 companies. Contracts Forty-three percent of the respondents contract with mail order drug companies. Seventeen percent stated they were considering adding mail order prescription drugs to their benefit plans. Most of the mail order drug programs were voluntary. Some plans were effective immediately, and others were geared to maintenance drugs and were effective after 30 to 60 days. Communications Sixty-five percent of responding companies communicate general information to their employees on appropriate utilization of prescription drugs. Thirty-five percent give information on generic drugs. Employer Costs All of the companies responding had seen an increase in prescription drug costs over the past five years. Twenty-five percent of those responding experienced a 100 percent increase. The average increase was 61 percent. PHOTO : Ruth H. Stack is President of the National Association of Employers on Health Care Action, PHOTO : Key Biscayne This article is about the island named Key Biscayne. For the village on the island of the same name, see Key Biscayne, Florida. For the tennis tournament sometimes referred to as Key Biscayne, see Miami Masters. , Fla. |
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