Top 2022 Pharmacy Benefits Posts & Topics - Weekly Newsletter incoming 12/25/22

Merry Christmashanukkahkwanzafestivus!

I tried a day early to run my live audio show here on LinkedIn with a little pre-cap of this newsletter on this Festivus, but no dice. It did not want to work with me.

Instead, if you'd like to listen to audio of this recap - you can listen in here!

This week, our year-end reviews continue - this time of the trifecta I like to nerd out on - Pharmacy Benefits - below are the top topics and posts of 2022 around this topic in my corner of the universe, based upon a raw unscientific analysis of the posts that I've shared here at LI over the course of the year.

Note that I'm setting aside my posts with and about Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, PBC for next week - the posts about CPD deserved their very own separate list!

Now, back to pharmacy benefits:

Top Posts on Pharmacy Benefits in 2022

8. PGx or Pharmacogenomics - Big buzz around PGx as a line of coverage this year, and I think we're almost there on the affordability and value front.

7. Drug Pricing, drug price metrics/benchmarking, overall, and cost plus model vs. traditional drug pricing models - The cost plus drug pricing model is not new. In fact, it's been around before all the AWP minus and WAC minus pricing began! Either way, everything old is new again, and of course we at CostPlusDrugs.com have been 100% transparent about our cost plus model.

6. Self-funded vs. Fully Insured and Employers' Spend on Rx Benefits - There seems to be quite a bit in the press about Medicare and Medicaid. What's interesting and what I tried to call out this year, was the fact that commercial employer health plans are probably the most common in the marketplace, and where I argue the price shenanigans are happening the most. Employers are paying some of the highest rates out there - and that needs to stop--particularly with medical drugs.

5. Drug Pricing Comparisons - Comparing pricing is always a fun post. This year did not disappoint either - now with more options than ever to shop for drugs:

4. Paying for Pharmacist SERVICES - This was an awesome poll that looked at what people were willing to pay to have the undivided attention of a pharmacist. We could, according to the data here - be charging $60-$120/hr for our services. Friends, it's time!

3. Oral Contraceptives/Roe v. Wade/Dobbs v. Jackson - Ah, the natural place would have been to put this in the pharmacy law top posts in last week's newsletter, but no. It was actually more on the therapeutic and benefits side where posts had more interaction, like the post below that had nearly 19K views:

2. PBM reform - This was the #1 topic in pharmacy law's newsletter last week, so you can go back and review it here. Vertical integration is always a hot topic here - below is just one chart I shared over the year:

1. How to work with CPD.com as a self-funded employer - I know, I said I wasn't going to talk about Cost Plus Drugs here, but this was one of the #1 questions I received during the course of the year, so I had to share posts in and around it. And, they were popular! I couldn't find one post, as there were too many!

In the new year, we're launching a new service along with independent pharmacies - The Team Cuban Benefits Card. Please join us if you're an independent pharmacist by filling out the form here - and we will get back to you.

Happy Holidays - stay safe, warm, and may your 2023 be bright!