News Briefs
✦ Spending on specialty medications accounted for more than half of total drug spend for the first time last year. That’s according to the Evernorth 2020 Drug Trend Report, released in March, which noted that less than 2% of the population used these drugs. The company also reported that plans participating in its SafeGuardRx programs had lower spending across each of the therapeutic areas. Top conditions for year-over-year trend included inflammatory conditions and cancer. For more information, visit www.evernorth.com/drug-trend-report.
✦ In 2021, 45 states and Washington, D.C., have at least one health insurance plan offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces that have a copay accumulator adjustment policy (CAAP), according to a new report by The AIDS Institute. Of those, a CAAP is offered in at least two-thirds of the plans, and of those, a CAAP is included in every plan in 14 states. Legislation prohibiting the policies is in place in five states and Puerto Rico. Researchers also found it difficult to track down information about these policies, including whether they were actually in place. Download the report at https://bit.ly/3upJ090.