Prescription drug prices set by drug manufacturers are high and rising – presenting challenges for patients, employers, unions, governments and taxpayers. Annual spending on retail medicines alone is projected to grow by nearly $500 per person in the coming decade.
Pharmacy is one of the most frequent touch points in an individual’s health care journey, and Optum Rx is helping protect consumers and the clients we serve from high and rising drug prices, improve outcomes, and create a better health care experience.
Optum Rx is helping reduce out-of-pocket costs for consumers, addressing the high cost of specialty drugs through integrated cost management and simplifying the pharmacy experience for our clients, care providers and consumers.
How We Support Clients and Consumers
Optum Rx serves as a counterweight to the substantial market power of pharmaceutical manufacturers, who have sole discretion over how they price their products. Through our negotiations with manufacturers, we are lowering the cost of prescription drugs.
Our Commitment to Community and Independent Pharmacies
Optum Rx is taking action to support community and independent pharmacies to drive better health outcomes and identify unmet needs for the patients they serve.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers Make Prescription Drugs More Affordable and Accessible
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) like Optum Rx help consumers and customers access the most effective medicines at the most affordable cost. We serve as a counterweight to the substantial market power of pharmaceutical manufacturers, who have sole discretion over how they price their products. Through our negotiations with manufacturers and by offering clinical and cost management services, we are lowering the cost of prescription drugs and improving health outcomes for our customers, including employers, unions, health plans, governments and the consumers they serve.
For every $1 spent
on their services, PBMs reduce costs by $10.
Over the next 10 years
PBMs will help prevent 1 billion medication errors.
9 in 10 employers
are satisfied with their PBM.
In addition to delivering consumers and clients a lower cost for prescription drugs, PBMs help maximize health outcomes by improving medication adherence, creating a seamless and accessible consumer experience and providing prescription drugs in the most convenient way possible.