Fein: Patients Are Trapped in ‘Doom Loop of Specialty Drug Benefits’

Plan sponsors’ use of copayment accumulators, copay maximizers and alternative funding companies to keep spending on specialty drugs down has been a fairly recent trend but one that continues to pick up speed, noted longtime industry expert Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., CEO of Drug Channels Institute, during a recent webinar. But as that use continues to increase, multiple questions exist around the practices and what the future holds for them.

The focus of the June 23 webinar, titled PBMs and the Battle Over Patient Support Funds: Accumulators, Maximizers, and Alternative Funding, mainly affects specialty drugs, which now represent more than half of payer spending on drugs due to two main reasons, he said. The first is the specialty drug pipeline and the costly prices of those agents, while the second is the dramatic growth in generic dispensing over the past 20 years.

Angela Maas

Angela Maas

Angela has an extensive background of editing, reporting and writing for trade and consumer publications. She has written Radar on Specialty Pharmacy (formerly called Specialty Pharmacy News) since she joined AIS Health in 2005 and has broad knowledge of the various issues at play within the space. Before joining AIS Health, she was managing editor at Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit News Canada and managing editor at HemAware (a hemophilia publication), Lupus Living and Momentum (a multiple sclerosis publication). She has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in British literature from Arizona State University.

Related Posts

justice-scale
May 11

AbbVie Files Lawsuit Against Alternate Funding Company Payer Matrix Alleging ‘Fraudulent and Deceptive Scheme’

READ MORE
pills-and-cash
October 13

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

READ MORE
pills-in-a-dollar-shape
September 8

Copay Maximizer Programs Are Coming Under Fire

READ MORE

GAIN THERAPEUTIC AREA-SPECIFIC INTEL TO DRIVE ACCESS FOR YOUR BRAND

Sign up for publications to get unmatched business intelligence delivered to your inbox.

subscribe today