Drug Topics - May 12, 2008 - (Page 40)

40 DRUG TOPICS MAY 12, 2008 www.drugtopics.com Cover Story EMPLOYERS AND R.PH.S: More employers are looking to pharmacists to control their rising drug costs and improve chronic care for their beneficaries Reid Paul H DT CAPSULE From 2001 to 2007 health insurance premiums rose 4X faster than wages. ealth care is once again front and center in the national political debate. Four years ago, Republicans pushed through the Medicare Part D drug benefit in part to bolster their credentials before the election. Now attention has turned to the health insurance plans proposed by the leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton (D, N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D, Ill.). Still, whoever wins the November election, it is clear that healthcare and medication costs will continue to rise faster than inflation, placing increased pressure on employers, employees, and the entire healthcare system. Just how bad is it? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, health insurance premiums have increased 78% between 2001 and 2007, four times faster than wages, which have grown just 19%. The foundation’s annual survey reported that premiums for both single and family health plans have more than doubled since 1999. And this time politicians are not promising to come to the rescue. John McCain (R, Ariz.), the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, has proposed tax breaks for beneficiaries to offset high costs and to make it easier for individuals to get insurance. Clinton’s proposal is to require everyone to have insurance, but to by and large keep intact the current system of employerbased plans. Similarly, Obama is proposing incentives to increase healthcare coverage, but does not propose to change the basic system of employer-based insurance coverage. Instead, it is increasingly employers who are taking on the task of controlling healthcare costs. Companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to universities to small mom and pop shops are attempting to take control of healthcare management. Significantly, these employers are not approaching health care from a purely cost-cutting standpoint, but are focusing on better treatment, especially for employees with chronic conditions. With the help of pharmacists, these companies are focusing on earlier intervention and looking at the longterm ramifications of healthcare expenditures. “Cuttingedge employers are focused on the low hanging fruit: management of chronic disease,” explained Andrew Webber, president and CEO of the National Business Coalition on Health. “We think that if we can do a better job of chronic care management, there are opportunities and interventions that can make that happen.” Taking control The moment of truth for the University of Southern California (USC) came about 15 years ago, according to Lisa Macchia, the director of health plans for the university. With 12,000 eligible faculty and staff, the school was seeing double-digit growth in its healthcare expenses. Most of the beneficiaries were in a plan run by Kaiser Permanente and the university felt its medical pharmacy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy schools were under-utilized. “Medical school faculty did not even have a private hospital where they could admit patients,” explained Macchia. In developing its own plan, USC sought to bring its doctors, nurses, and pharmacists into the program, both as patients and healthcare practitioners. Now, half of the school’s employees, retirees, and family members are enrolled in the program and just as important to the school, more than half of the drugs dispensed come from the school’s two on-campus pharmacies and half of the payments to doctors in the plan go to USC physicians. USC’s School of Pharmacy owns and operates both pharmacies. “As the plan evolved, we were able to take advantage of all the professional schools and the providers that the school produced,” Macchia said. Control over the health plan has also allowed USC to get involved in more innovative programs. In 2006, USC signed on for the Diabetes Ten City Challenge (DTCC), a program developed by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation. DTCC offers beneficiaries intensive in-person disease management sessions http://www.drugtopics.com

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Drug Topics - May 12, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters R.Ph.s Say More Needs to be Done to Prevent Pediatric Drug Errors There's a New School of Thought on Use of Beta-Blockers for Hypertension Cover Story Guest Spot Letters Clinical Practice Special Report Professional Practice Broad Label for New Leukemia Therapy Looks Promising Treating Asthma During Pregnancy Safer than Not, Says New Guide In the Pipeline Clinical Q&A APhA Leader's Plan to Leave Office Takes Center Stage at its Conference Policies Passed at a Glance Giving a Talk to the Community? Check Out These Materials This Foundation has Funds to Spare JP at Large Cover Story: Employers and R.Ph.S: A Win-Win Combo FDA's Ilisa Bernstein Discusses Pharmacy Affairs Legal Q&A Manufacturers Unleash a Rash of Poison Ivy Treatments Are OTC Cold Remedies Safe for Kids? Probiotics are All the Rage: How You Can Capitalize on It CMS' Prices for Round One of DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Raising Concerns CVS Caremark's Mentoring Program Recruits and Retains R.Ph.s Antibiotic Resistance Among Community Pathogens Technology Update New Products Advertisers Index Classified Viewpoint

Drug Topics - May 12, 2008

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