Several employers, such as Lowes now make this the default arrangement for your prescriptions, so when you sign up, be sure to denote otherwiseimage, or else by default your prescription refills will be sent to your home.  The main reason for doing this is cost of course, and regularly used drugs can be handled this way, as long as they get there and are not hi-jacked by the Post Office or any other type of delivery service.  I am guessing in the case of an emergency this would be waived  so one could get the medications immediately, or for that matter if it’s a generic drug on the $4.00 list, why mess with it as your deductible will more than likely be more than the cost of the $4.00 script.  

With employers this is another bargaining incentive used to help keep the cost of health insurance down when it comes to negotiating time for a new contract I might guess, and this is only one of such items.  Use of health coaches is another item used to enroll employees to give them a discount on their premiums.    Other items showing up on the negotiating table may be devices like this one:

The Muve Gruve Device Measures your Inactivity – Intrusive Technology with a Human Audit Trail?

This company’s goal is plainly stated on their website:  wear the device and you may get a reduction on your insurance premiums so big brother knows how much activity you “really” had today. 

“A targeted customer base is corporations looking to explore the possibility of reducing the cost of insurance premiums by improving peoples health through prevention rather that treatment and those who need that extra reminder to get up and at it to stay fit.”

One note to mention though about the $4.00 prescriptions, if you get one filled and pay cash without using a Pharmacy Discount card, you doctor gets his on his pay for performance and gets nailed by utilization committees on why you are not taking your medications.  Most MDs I have spoken too have been asked that question on many occasions with reviews and by good reason get quite indigent about it as they can’t control whether or not you open mouth and insert pill, but the reports that come back through the HMO insurance tracking shows what prescriptions are filled, so that is why they all want you to use the “discount card” so it can be tracked.  More on this here.  How much say do we have anymore?    BD 

Now Express Scripts, one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers, has developed a program that applies similar behavioral economics principles to prescription drug benefit plans. For participating employers, the Select Home Delivery program automatically enrolls their employees in the home delivery program unless they specifically opt out of it. "Moving from retail to home delivery may be the most powerful intervention we have today to improve therapy adherence," says Bob Nease, chief scientist for Express Scripts, referring to patients who follow their prescribed drug regimens. Home delivery also saves patients money, typically up to a third of the prescription cost for a 90-day supply.

So far, about two dozen companies have signed up for the Select Home Delivery program. Home improvement retailer Lowe's has seen the percentage of prescriptions filled through home delivery rise from about 14 percent to 40 percent since the company signed on, says Nease.

Express Scripts' New Plan: Prescription Drugs Go to Employees' Homes - On Health and Money (usnews.com)

Hat Tip:  E-Drug Search. Com

Related Reading:

The Human Audit Trail to automatically track your fitness and sleep and a few other things…
The Wellness Programs: Payouts to Those Who Work Out - Insurers give discounts on premiums
High-tech gadgets hit doctor-patient relationships and more..
Allstate testing “brain fitness” software on older drivers
When Pay for Performance and $4.00 Generic Prescriptions Hit the Wall
Discrimination and Health Insurance: Big Brother in the Workplace and Beyond

0 comments :

Post a Comment

 
Top
Google Analytics Alternative