What do employers think of prescription drug benefits?

Many employers think their PBM contract benefits the PBM at the expense of the employer. (Photo: Shutterstock)

A majority of employers believe that their contracts with pharmacy benefit managers are too complex and lack transparency, and they wish that PBMs would focus less on rebates and more on discounts and value-based insurance design, according to interviews with experts that served as the basis of a survey of 88 “jumbo” employers.

The results of the survey, as well as follow-up employer recommendations for PBMs, were detailed in the study, “Toward Better Value: Employer Perspectives on What’s Wrong With the Management of Prescription Drug Benefits and How to Fix It,” conducted by Benfield, a division of Gallagher Benefit Services, on behalf of the National Pharmaceutical Council.