We all know that the cost of brand-name prescription drugs is rising every day. In fact, estimated retail prices for brand-name prescriptions are more than two to four times higher in the U.S. than in other countries.
To put this in perspective, the average price of brand-name prescriptions is around $353 for Medicare Part D and $218 for Medicaid. If a person needs a prescription every month, they could end up paying up to $4,236 per year—and that’s if they’re only paying the average.
That’s a lot of money for your employees, but it’s also a lot of money for your company to pay out to support those employees. Every time costs go up, you need to increase the amount of coverage in your plan. After all, you can’t afford to have an unhealthy or unhappy workforce. So, the high costs are impacting your bottom line, too.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. By moving toward a low-cost mail-order prescription plan, you can save significant amounts of money for both your business and employees, all with the added convenience of medications delivered straight to their front doors.
Many CEOs that I talk to aren’t aware that this option exists or had never seriously considered it. They re-up the same fully insured plans they’ve had year after year, assuming that the increased costs are outside their control and just part of life. So, they continue to spend more money to ensure their employees can access their medications. Meanwhile, employees continue to pay through the nose to get the prescriptions they need to live, whatever the price tag says.
Mail-order prescriptions offer an enormously cost-effective alternative. Mail-order allows employees to receive brand-name prescriptions at far lower costs than they would pay if they were to pick up medication at a pharmacy. In fact, mail-order prescription programs, like the one offered by our partner CRX International, require $0 co-payments for all medications, all the time.
The benefits of $0 co-pays for employees are evident, but the no-cost option also provides significant savings opportunities for your organization. On average, companies that use CRX International’s mail-order program save between 65% to 75% off the retail prices of brand-name medications. That type of savings can have an exceptionally positive effect on your company’s balance sheet. Plus, you’ll never have to try and guess how much those prescriptions are going to cost next year or attempt to anticipate unexpected price fluctuations—because there will never be any.
One question that people tend to ask when thinking about ordering brand-name prescriptions through the mail is “how safe are these medications?” After all, most mail-order prescriptions come from other countries, where the cost of prescriptions tends to be much lower than in the U.S. Surely, there’s a catch?
Not really. The reality is that reputable mail-order prescription providers like CRX only source prescriptions from “Tier 1” countries, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. These countries have very strict safety standards and regulations, so recipients can rest assured that the medications they’re receiving have been through rigorous testing and trials.
In short, when you provide your employees with a mail-order option, you’re not only providing them with the medications they need in a more convenient and cost-effective way. You’re also providing them with brand-name prescriptions that are just as safe and effective as the drugs they would otherwise get at their local pharmacy—without paying the exorbitant price.
It’s too easy to get used to the same-old, same-old when it comes to health insurance. Too easy to get accustomed to paying ever-higher prices and rates, every year. Too easy to get comfortable with the benefit plan you’ve had for ages—if only because it may seem like a hassle to change.
But if that plan’s stealing money from your employees’ pockets and making it harder for your organization to remain in the black? Well, that’s no plan at all. And since prescription prices just keep going up, chances are things will continue to get worse before they get better.
Unless you decide to make a move, right now.
I invite you to look at your current plan and compare it to everything I just wrote. Does it offer $0 co-pays on every brand name prescription? Can it save your organization up to 75% on the cost of prescriptions? Does it guarantee access to brand-name medications delivered right to your employees’ homes?
I’m betting it doesn’t. And I’m betting that you can’t wait to do something about it.
Because just like the prices of the medications themselves, the cost of waiting to switch to a mail-order prescription plan is far too high for you and your employees.
Want to learn more about how your healthcare plan is being crushed by high-priced medications, and what you can do about it? Register for our next webinar, where we’ll about how to leverage mail-order prescriptions to stop high-priced medications from crushing your health plan—and your bottom line.
Alan Wiederhold is executive vice president at EVHC. Alan oversees EVHC’s strategy for providing brokers and clients with cost-effective health insurance options that save money without sacrificing care. In addition, he is an author, national speaker, and self-proclaimed healthcare nerd focused on creating new strategies for employers.
