Amazon, Mark Cuban drug company partner with Blue Shield of California to overhaul prescription drug system
Blue Shield of California expects to save up to $500M in medication costs annually once the plan is implemented
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Blue Shield of California will team up with Amazon and Mark Cuban's drug company to fix what it says is a "broken prescription drug system" and to provide more affordable care.
To do so, Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan, announced a new pharmacy care model Thursday that will change the way medications are purchased and supplied to its 4.8 million members.
The current system "rewards some stakeholders for selling more drugs at higher costs," Blue Shield said. The nonprofit wants to change that.
"The current pharmacy system is extremely expensive, enormously complex, completely opaque, and designed to maximize the profit of participants instead of the quality, convenience and cost-effectiveness for consumers," Blue Shield of California CEO Paul Markovich said.
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Under the new plan, Amazon Pharmacy will be responsible for delivering the patient's medications for free. It will also provide patients 24/7 access to pharmacists.
Meanwhile, the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company will create a more affordable pricing model to help patients get their hands on low-cost medications even in-store at pharmacy counters.
Abarca will handle the prescription drug claims.
Blue Shield of California will still lean on CVS Caremark to provide specialty pharmacy services for members with complex conditions, including education and high-touch patient support. However, CVS will no longer oversee the administration of drug benefits, the WSJ reported.
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CVS said in a statement to FOX Business that it looks "forward to providing care for Blue Shield of California’s members who require complex, specialty medications – as we have for nearly two decades."
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Once the multiyear strategy is fully implemented, Blue Shield plan expects to save up to $500 million in annual drug costs.
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Markovich touted that this new system will get "the right drugs to the right people at the right time at a substantially lower cost."
