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Do drug copay coupons undermine your benefits strategy?

Coupons promote expensive branded medicines, even when inexpensive equivalents are available. Learn about the costs they add to your plan, plus ideas on how you can combat their effect.
September, 2012 Issue 8

Enhanced Call Center Model

As members migrate to our in-house platform they will get better, faster service. Our improved call centers can resolve over 90 percent of all calls on the first call, with no transfers.

Related topics: Member Engagement, Transition

Specialty drug coupon exclusions

How manufacturer coupons affect the specialty medication class. In particular, we discuss UnitedHealthcare’s decision to stop facilitating coupons for certain specialty medications.

Related topics: Cost Control, Member Engagement, PDL, Specialty

Help your members understand copay coupons

Download this brief, easy-to-understand piece to help your employees understand how drug copay coupons add costs to the health care system.

Related topics: Cost Control, Member Engagement, PDL

Letter from the
Chief Pharmacy
Officer

Welcome to this month's issue.

September, 2012 Issue 8

In this issue

  • Do drug copay coupons undermine your benefits strategy?
  • Enhanced Call Center Model
  • Specialty drug coupon exclusions
  • Help your members understand copay coupons

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Letter from the Chief
Pharmacy Officer

Welcome to the latest issue of Pharmacy InFocus. We want to be your go-to resource for all things related to your UnitedHealthcare prescription plan, plus pharmacy news in general.


This month we explore one of the ways we will improve the service members receive when they call us with questions. We have been steadily expanding our enhanced call center model for several years. Now call center capabilities have been expanded so that over 90 percent of all calls can be resolved on the first call, with no transfers. See how we do it.


Next we take a closer look at one of the growing problems in our industry: manufacturer copay coupons. Coupons promote the use of expensive branded medicines, even when there are inexpensive generic equivalents available. Learn more about the costs they add to your plan, plus some ideas on how you can combat their effect. We even have a special member education piece that you are free to download and distribute to your employees, so that they can better understand what’s at stake when they are offered coupons.


In connection with the problems coupons present, look for a deeper dive on how they affect the specialty medication class. In particular, we’ll walk through UnitedHealthcare’s decision to stop facilitating coupons for certain specialty medications.


Thank you for reading Pharmacy InFocus. As always, we want to know what you think. Just click on the “Send us your feedback” link, below.



Regards,



Susan V. Maddux, Pharm.D., BCPS
Chief Pharmacy Officer