Employer group launches pharmacy benefit management business
(Reuters) — A nonprofit coalition of nearly 40 private employers, including retailers Walmart and Costco, said Monday it has launched a new company that would offer pharmacy benefit management services for employers.
With the COVID-19 pandemic weighing severely on people's emotional and physical wellbeing, companies have been looking to broaden their offerings to support their employees.
EmsanaRx, the PBM unit of the coalition Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH), will provide employers a fixed price per prescription as well as guidance from a clinical pharmacist account manager.
PBMs serve as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, health insurance plans and pharmacies to negotiate prescription drug prices.
San Francisco-based PBGH is the majority owner of Emsana Health, the company that will house the PBM unit. The group also counts Boeing Co. and Microsoft Corp among its members.
Cigna Corp.'s Evernorth and UnitedHealth Group's unit Optum are among the largest providers of PBM services in the United States. Health conglomerate CVS Health Corp. also has a PBM business.
