Why our program is different
Important: it is important to note that most PBM programs are not transparent. In a non-transparent model the PBM would have marked up the price of the simvastatin to around ˘60 cents per pill. The ˘60 cents per pill would be billed to the employer plan or the patient, however the PBM would only pay the pharmacy around ˘25 and would pocket the ˘35 spread. This is how all major PBMs operate (Express Scripts, Medco, etc). In many instances the PBM makes more than the pharmacy.
The unique competetive advantage of the Rapid RX Card Medication Assistant Program
The Rapid RX Card program gets its competitive advantage from its core application we call the RB Portal. This solution has evolved for over a decade continually taking advantage and incorporating the newest and greatest technologies that have been used by over 37 of the fortune 50 companies and in over 14 countries. Parts of the technology hold some of the highest awards and have accomplished award winning feats with some of the world’s largest companies at record breaking speeds.
One of the main items that makes it work so efficiently is it is one of the only true "transparent" Pharmacy Benefit Management Company (PBM) drug cards in existence in the USA that has this unique real-time technology capability. Rapid RX Card used its vast knowledge of real-time technology to produce real-time transactions providing extremely deep savings on drugs, and then instantly passes on the entire medication savings directly to the member at time of purchase rather than pocketing the "spread" like most PBM’s do. When deep discounting and clinical formularies are combined with true transparency, the result is significant savings to plan sponsors and their members as the ©Rapid RX Card RB Portal Solution Proves.
Rapid RX Card is contracted with PBM processors to initiate a MAC (Maximum Allowable Cost) pricing strategy on most generics that become a part of the pharmacy contract. The MAC pricing details are proprietary. However, we can disclose what is based on the wholesale acquisition cost of drugs for major chain pharmacies. Once the lowest possible ingredient cost is set, we allow the pharmacy a reasonable dispensing fee of $3.00 per script for generics and $2.00 for branded medications.
Using Simvastatin as an example, the math goes like this:
˘20 (cost per pill) X 30(quantity) + $3.00 (dispensing fee to pharmacy) = $9.00 Total Cost to Patient
Here is an actual example of what can happen on some of the most widely used medications (based on actual transactions in January 2011):
Through January 29th, the 30 day results of this program are as follows: Savings over suggested retail pricing were 66.54% based on 14,298 transactions. Savings averaged $70.28 per prescription filled or 66.54%. Generic utilization was 88% Generic drug savings averaged 79.80%, and the average generic medication dispensed cost was $22.61.
