(Reuters) -Health insurer Cigna’s unit Evernorth Health said on Wednesday it will make changes to help lower out-of-pocket cost of prescription drugs for patients at its pharmacy stores.
The changes will protect patients from paying a high list price for their medication by giving them access to lower prices negotiated by Cigna’s pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts.
Insurers that own pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) have come under pressure due to their influence over drug pricing.
CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s Optum together control the majority of the U.S. pharmacy benefit market, while their parent companies operate health insurance and pharmacy businesses.
The PBMs negotiate drug costs with pharmacies and drug manufacturers and help build drug coverage lists for health plans, mostly on behalf of employers and the government.
The pharmacy benefit managers directly reimburse pharmacies for prescription drugs included under their agreed terms.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
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