Controlling costs through medical and pharmacy integration
Connecting pharmacy and medical benefits helps provide a more holistic view to offer employees the clinical assistance and guidance they need for better health.
- Integrated benefits
- All Business Sizes
- All states
In a rapidly changing industry with rising costs and chronic conditions, about 90% of employers say high drug prices threaten affordable employee benefits.1 It’s more important than ever for employers to find solutions to manage their medical and pharmacy spend while supporting their employee population. Challenges employers and employees face include:
- 28% of Americans have 3 or more conditions, and this will increase 168% in 10 years2 One in 3 adults could have diabetes by 2050.3 And 1 in 5 adults will develop heart failure.4
- About 20% of Americans are taking 3 or more medications.5
- The 1--2% of employees who have conditions requiring specialty medications drove 59% of total drug spend across both medical and pharmacy benefits.6
UnitedHealthcare research shows that combining pharmacy benefits with medical plans is central to improving outcomes and containing costs. Integrated pharmacy solutions can realize incremental medical savings from up to $28 per member per month,7 up to an 11%--15% reduction in ER visits8 and inpatient admits costs, and up to 18% increase in medication adherence for top chronic conditions.9
“If employers can’t see the complete picture, they may have a blind spot that they don’t know about in their employee population,” says Susan Maddux, UnitedHealthcare Chief Pharmacy Officer. “We have the expertise working across teams and resources to implement the overall management of these programs focusing on right drug, right cost while creating the right experience.”
Integrated health benefits in action
Integration happens across a combination of UnitedHealthcare medical benefits, OptumRx pharmacy care services, comprehensive clinical management programs and UnitedHealthcare health advocacy model.
When about 44% of specialty medications on average fall under the medical benefit and 55% fall under the pharmacy benefit,10 an integrated approach to managing specialty conditions makes it easier for employers to manage the costs and care teams to support employees from a 360-degree perspective.
Member support teams — health advocates, physicians, nurses and pharmacists — leverage the same integrated data systems and holistic view to provide members with the clinical assistance and guidance to help ensure the right strategy at every step. This can include educating members about their treatment, notifying doctors when a prescription is abandoned at the pharmacy, sending proactive refill reminders, connecting members with behavioral health services and alerting prescribers to potential drug safety issues.
For example, Maria,* who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, begins her treatment path with:
3 Key Takeaways
- Medical and pharmacy integration happens across a combination of UnitedHealthcare medical benefits, OptumRx pharmacy care services and comprehensive clinical management programs.
- Member support teams — health advocates, physicians, nurses and pharmacists — leverage the same integrated data systems to provide members with the clinical assistance and guidance they need for improved health.
- Integrated pharmacy solutions can realize incremental medical savings of up to $28 per member per month.
In addition, UnitedHealthcare monitors the pipeline of drugs seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration to help ensure strategies benefit employers and employees in the long term.
"We start reviewing the pipeline in the pre-approval phase. When we understand what the likelihood of approval is and what would be the implications if a drug does get approved, we can start developing criteria and other strategies well in advance of when the product hits the market," Maddux says.
Building a personalized experience for employees
For employees like Maria, she’ll be able to find all of her information in one place. Employers with integrated benefits with UnitedHealthcare have 21% higher clinical engagement compared to those without integration.13
When she calls UnitedHealthcare, advocates can handle medical and pharmacy questions. They have a series of triggers to talk about with the member such as missing a medication refill. The advocate can then find out the reason to help resolve the issue.
With solutions that place employees at the center of care, they’ll experience support whether it’s a live video medication consult for a new specialty medication or finding the most affordable medications for treating a chronic condition to improve adherence.
“Our synchronized teams, including 85,000 clinical professionals, work as one to help get employees personalized health and savings opportunities at the right time,” Maddux says. “Providers get timely information to guide health and cost decisions. The power of integrating pharmacy and medical can make a big difference in employees’ health outcomes and employers’ total cost of care.”
*Maria is not a real patient. Her story reflects the experience of multiple patients.
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