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To help drive down the costs of prescription drugs, some employers are encouraging their workers to bypass their insurance plans and purchase drugs directly from their local pharmacies. While there's no hard data available, companies figure they save money by not using their health insurance, and workers save money because the price of the drugs is cheaper than their insurance copays.
To take advantage of this growing trend, several neighborhood pharmacies nationwide have attempted to shed their "mom and pop" image by becoming more business savvy with their price structuring. For example, a program called 1 Price Prescription promotes the sale of a large list of generic drugs, approximately 200, for $18 for a three-month supply, or 100 pills. The prices also are stacked to offer volume savings; it's $34 for 200 pills, $48 for 300 and $60 for 400. Consumers pay out of pocket - no insurance or copays involved.
The program is the brainchild of Dan Benamoz, CEO of Pharmacy Development Services in Lantana, Fla. PDS is a consultant organization that provides business solutions and coaching services to independent pharmacies. Not all pharmacies run the program the same. Benamoz and his team present the concept and the model, and pharmacies then shape it to their specific needs.
"We're doing this with pharmacies all over the country," says Benamoz, "and if people are interested in finding a pharmacy in their area [that offers 1 Price Prescription], they can contact us and we would be happy to put them in touch with one."
Johnson Drug in Waltham, Mass., is an independent pharmacy that uses 1 Price Prescription. Owner Steve Bernardi says he's been using the program for about two years, but its popularity has really taken off within the last few months. Bernardi doesn't charge a fee to be a part of the program, and it's open to everyone, whether they have health insurance or not. And if the drug isn't on the formulary, Bernardi encourages people to tell him so he can look into including it.
He believes that the system benefits both employers and employees. "The employee saves money because the cost is not as high as their usual copay, and the employer saves money because this is an out-of-pocket worker expense...