Questions Exist Around Some Alternate Funding Companies That Carve Out Specialty Drugs

With companies trying to keep their prescription drug spending down, some have turned to alternate funding companies. While their approaches may seem appealing initially, some — such as ones that carve out certain specialty drugs and seek coverage from patient assistance funds — may not be worth the investment, say industry sources, who encourage companies to take a closer look at what their savings actually are.

During a July 29 webinar titled Specialty Drugs Update: Trends, Controversies, and Outlook, longtime industry expert Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., CEO of Drug Channels Institute, noted that while the use of copay accumulators and maximizers has risen, “there is another newer trend that’s even scarier, and that’s the business of what some people call specialty carve-outs,” he said, calling this “the shady business of specialty carve-outs.” Vendors such as ImpaxRX, Paydhealth, SHARx, PayerMatrix and Script Sourcing get payers to exclude specialty drugs and then get those drugs covered via patient assistance programs at manufacturers or charitable foundations. If patients are denied patient assistance, coverage reverts to the company’s payer/PBM/specialty pharmacy.