Express Scripts, Optum Rx Tout Transparency, Cost-Capping Initiatives

Express Scripts and Optum Rx recently disclosed initiatives including pass-through arrangements, lower copays and price matches that they say will help clients and members save money and increase transparency. Marc Guieb, Pharm.D., a consulting pharmacist with Milliman, Inc., says the announcements are not “new or revolutionary or anything” and that they “seem to be rebranding of existing programs and products that are already offered.”

Guieb notes that the press releases are likely in response to the increasing scrutiny the PBM industry faces from politicians and others. Several Senate committees this year have introduced PBM legislation, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last year opened an investigation into the business practices and consolidation of PBMs.