Market Access 101: Key Factors in Medical Benefit Contracting
Welcome back to our Market Access 101 blog series, which began with the basics of market access and covered how to improve formulary placement and secure coverage under the medical benefit. In this post, we’ll dive deeper into the medical benefit, explaining how payer/PBM contracting works—and why it’s increasingly necessary.
Spotlight on Vaccines: The Inflation Reduction Act’s Impact on Coverage
While the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may best be known for mandating Medicare drug price negotiation, the act did much more than that. Among its other accomplishments are the elimination of cost sharing for vaccines under Medicare Part D, as well as improved access to adult vaccines for Medicaid and
© 2024 MMIT
Key Trends in Medical Benefit Contracting
The rising cost of specialty pharmaceuticals has motivated payers to implement tighter restrictions and seek both traditional and value-based contracts. As manufacturers are already contracting with GPOs, distribution networks and medical practices, most would prefer to avoid contracting with payers and PBMs for their medical benefit products. Yet the data
Weighing the Benefits: Are Payers Likely to Cover Weight Loss Drugs in 2023?
In 2021, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) gained FDA approval for chronic weight management in overweight or obese adults, hitting the market in June 2022 at a list price of $1,349 per 28-day supply. In clinical trials, patients achieved an astounding mean weight loss of nearly 15% after 68 weeks of
Unintended Consequences of the IRA: Will the CPI Penalty Increase the Price of Drugs?
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law in August 2022, was intended in part to lower healthcare costs for families and small businesses. The IRA contains several provisions aimed at prescription drug costs which will roll out over the next few years, with the earliest taking effect this year.
© 2024 MMIT
Staying Competitive in an Expanding Medicare Advantage Market
Over the past year, the health plan landscape has seen significant enrollment shifts, especially within government-sponsored plans. According to MMIT’s Directory of Health Plans, the top 10 Medicare Advantage insurers accounted for 77.2% of the national market at the close of 2022. Nine of the top 10 organizations reported year-over-year
Market Access 101: Securing Coverage Under the Medical Benefit
Welcome back to MMIT’s Market Access 101 blog series. Our first post, Understanding the Basics, covered the difference between the pharmacy and medical benefit structure, while our second, Improving Your Drug’s Formulary Placement, discussed how to overcome access barriers. In this post, we’ll discuss what manufacturers should know about drugs
© 2024 MMIT
The Problem with Copay Adjustment and Alternate Funding Programs
Payers’ use of copay adjustment programs has exploded over the past few years, and interest in them remains high. In addition, payers are now looking to bring down their drug spend by adopting newer strategies offered by companies with alternate funding programs. While many manufacturers are pushing back against these
Market Access 101: Improving Your Drug’s Formulary Placement
Welcome back to MMIT’s Market Access 101 series, in which we unpack the complexities of market access via a series of blog posts. In our first post, Understanding the Basics, we covered the difference between the pharmacy and medical benefit structure, the typical timeline for drug review, and why it’s
The Evolution of Medical Benefit Contracting: How Pharma Can Prepare
Given the growth of specialty pharmaceuticals, manufacturers will need to develop more aggressive contracting strategies to secure optimal market access for their medical benefit drugs. Shifting market dynamics, driven in part by the influx of lower cost biosimilars on the pharmacy benefit, will require pharma companies to focus more on