Report Details Providers’ Mounting Concerns With White Bagging

  • Jul 11, 2024

    White bagging continues to be a sore subject for providers, according to a June 21 Avalere Health report. As in past reports, providers surveyed by Avalere are concerned that white bagging can harm patients and lead to wasted medication — which can add up, since payers only use white bagging strategies for expensive specialty medications. The report also raised concerns that payer ownership of specialty pharmacies raises conflicts of interest and could accelerate provider consolidation.

    White bagging is a payer practice that significantly changes the customary dispensing and billing arrangements around provider-administered drugs. Until recently, providers used the “buy-and-bill” framework with regard to such drugs. In buy-and-bill transactions, which still account for the vast majority of specialty pharmacy care, providers purchase a specialty drug, stock it in their facility and charge a payer for it after administering the drug to a patient.

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  • Peter Johnson

    Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.

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