Express Scripts News

Massachusetts AG Finds More Drug Overcharges in Workers’ Compensation

Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts, Inc. has agreed to pay $3.2 million after allegedly failing to follow prescription pricing procedures intended to keep costs down and prevent overcharges in the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system, according to Massachusetts Attorney General …

Drug Middlemen Face State Probes Over Complex Pricing System

Several states are probing pharmacy-benefit managers’ business practices in government-sponsored health programs, adding to the scrutiny the middlemen face in Washington for their role in the cost of drugs. At least three state attorneys general are investigating PBMs, in addition …

Montana Regulators Propose Fines Against Pharmacy Benefits Managers

State regulators are proposing fines against two companies that manage pharmacy benefits for health insurers, saying they operated in Montana without a license. The alleged violations were discovered while the office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance was gathering …

Cigna’s Purchase of Express Scripts Tightens Drug Supply Chain

Over 20 years, Brian Komoto built a thriving pharmacy in California’s Central Valley. Each day, his nurses would travel the vast agricultural region’s roads to help hepatitis C patients take a grueling regimen of shots. Then, in 2016, 20 percent …

Express Scripts Will Limit Drug for First Time Opioid Users

The nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager will soon limit the number and strength of opioid drugs prescribed to first-time users as part of a wide-ranging effort to curb an epidemic affecting millions of Americans. But the new program from Express …

Express Scripts: Workers’ Comp Prescription Drug Spend Increased 2.2% in 2015

Rising drug prices contributed to a 2.2 percent growth in pharmacy spending for American workers’ compensation payers in 2015, according to a new report released by Express Scripts. Effective management programs helped lower injured workers’ drug utilization by 2.6 percent …

Specialty Drugs Driving Up Prescription Costs: Express Scripts

Prescription drugs spending jumped 13 percent last year, the biggest annual increase since 2003, according to the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits manager. Express Scripts Holding Co. said that the jump was fueled in part by pricey specialty drugs that accounted …

More States Considering Workers’ Compensation Drug Formularies

While workers’ compensation pharmacy benefit managers have been utilizing drug formularies for a long time, only Washington, Texas, Ohio and Oklahoma have state-regulated drug formularies in place. Several more states are considering their use as a way to reduce drug …

Express Scripts Launches Workers’ Comp Program To Reduce Narcotic Abuse

Prescription narcotic overdoses cause more deaths than cocaine and heroin combined each year. Misuse and abuse of these powerful medications also result in significant extra expense for workers’ compensation payers. St. Louis-based Express Scripts announced the launch of its Morphine …

Study Reveals Keys to Controlling Specialty Drug Costs

A study presented at the National Business Group on Health’s (NBGH) Business Health Agenda 2013 conference in Washington, D.C., showed that, on average, employers that use multiple cost management programs had a 50 percent lower specialty drug trend than employers …