Delta Care Rx's Do-It-Yourself (DIY) PBM Medication Purchasing Program to Save Hospices Thousands with No Contract/No Commitment Required
PITTSBURGH, May 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Care Rx, one of the nation's leading and innovative pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies exclusively serving hospice providers, today called for an end to pharmacy pricing games and gimmicks by PBMs during the COVID-19 crisis by launching a Do-It-Yourself (DIY), no-contract/no-commitment Rx purchasing option for any hospice provider looking for more competitive pricing on the prescription medications it provides to patients.
Under Delta Care's new no-frills program, available at www.deltacarerx.com/diy, any hospice provider can enter a secure portal and purchase patient-specific prescription medications through Delta Care's nationwide pharmacy network—even, or especially, if the hospice is contracted with any of Delta Care's PBM competitors.
"By offering this no-risk test drive, we're essentially inviting hospices everywhere to 'cherry pick' which drugs they'd like to purchase via Delta Care Rx at a large discount in comparison to traditional and flawed per-diem or average wholesale price discount pricing that hospices are compelled to pay by most pharmacy or PBM providers," said Delta Care President Drew Mihalyo. "The discount will be particularly obvious when the medications ordered are 'off-formulary' or deemed 'non-preferred,'" Mihalyo explained.
"Hospices can use our new DIY program once a month, once a year, or as often as they see fit. It should become a routine to price check against their current options when they have a gut feeling that their PBM or pharmacy is grossly overcharging them—even when it's a long-standing, generically available drug. While the pricing isn't quite as good as what our fully contracted customers have access to, they might be shocked by what they learn from our DIY program," Mihalyo added.
An Example
Mihalyo provided the following example to illustrate both the challenge hospices face when contracted with other pharmacy providers that promote limited formulary access versus the opportunity presented by Delta Care's new DIY purchasing option:
- A hospice admits a new patient with multiple health issues that require a total of 12 different prescription medications to ensure the patient's comfort and well-being.
- Eight of those 12 medications are included in the formulary imposed by the hospice's PBM.
- But the hospice is obligated under the Medicare Conditions of Participation to cover 10 of those medications and the price tag for the hospice to obtain the two "non-formulary" items from its current pharmacy presents an unreasonable financial burden to the hospice.
- Now, with Delta Care's DIY program, any hospice can obtain the necessary medications by paying a rate based on the true acquisition cost of the medication instead of the "spread-based" pricing gimmicks used by most PBMs/pharmacies serving the hospice sector.
Here's How It Works
Interested hospices can sign up for Delta Care's DIY purchasing option by simply sending an email to [email protected]. Once a hospice has received a logon credential to the client DIY portal on the Delta Care website, it can price check its current prescription pricing against Delta Care's pricing. If a hospice likes the pricing it sees and would like to purchase the medication, the hospice can complete a simple and quick process to gain immediate access to dispensing services at more than 65,000 network pharmacies in Delta Care's nationwide network. Mihalyo predicts, "the average savings per prescription will yield $10–$15 in comparison to a hospice's current pricing. Some commonly used medications ordered through this portal will save hundreds of dollars each time."
Hospice is a $19 billion sector of the healthcare economy that in 2017 cared for more than 1.5 million patients and their families, according to the most recent data reported by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
About Delta Care Rx
Delta Care Rx (www.deltacarerx.com) transforms and improves the hospice pharmacy sector through business transparency, innovation, extreme customer service, and the maintenance of vital community-pharmacy relationships. As a pharmacist-owned, privately held provider, Delta Care sets the industry benchmark for pharmacy benefit management, mail order pharmacy options, on-demand pharmacist services and hospice-tailored electronic prescribing. In addition, Delta Care offers electronic tools, including cutting-edge telehealth technology, to improve the quality of patient care and simplify essential workflow and ordering processes within hospice settings.
Amanda Kummins
Delta Care Rx
800.335.8219
SOURCE Delta Care Rx
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