Sep 14, 2026 | Drug costs, MedBen Rx, Pharmacy, Prescription, Rebates, Rx Costs
A large rebate can look like a bargain, but often it only offsets a higher list price. Manufacturer rebates are typically a percentage of list price, so raising the list price makes the rebate look bigger without reducing what the plan pays. That is why rebate size is...
Sep 14, 2026 | Client Report, Cost management, Health care costs, Rx Costs, Trend
Employers heading into 2027 face another year of steep health care cost increases. Matching national trend still means absorbing a large increase. The more useful target is staying below trend — and doing it repeatedly. The difference can add up quickly. From 2021...
Aug 17, 2026 | Drug costs, Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM), Rx Costs, Survey
The share of employers using one of the three major pharmacy benefit managers — Optum Rx, CVS Caremark, or Express Scripts — fell from 63.4% in 2025 to 54.3% in 2026, according to the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions’ Pulse of the Purchaser survey....
Aug 3, 2026 | Biosimilars, Cost Savings, Drug costs, Pharmacy, Prescription, Rx Costs, Savings, Specialty Drugs
Specialty drug costs are projected to jump another 32% by 2028, according to the Pharmacy Strategies Group. While greater utilization remains the primary driver, lower-cost biosimilars can help pharmacy plans offset the increase. Biosimilars’ overall market share...
Jul 3, 2026 | Acquisition Cost Index (ACI) pricing, Biosimilars, Client Report, Drug costs, Formularies, MedBen Rx, Rx Costs, Specialty Drugs, Spending, Transparency
U.S. pharmaceutical expenditures rose 12.7% in 2025 to $915.2 billion, according to a recent analysis in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. Utilization drove most of the growth, led by high-cost therapies such as tirzepatide, semaglutide, and apixaban....
Jun 8, 2026 | Client Report, Drug costs, Employer costs, Health care costs, Outpatient care, Rx Costs
Milliman’s 2026 Medical Index projects a 7.9% increase in per-person health care costs for employer-sponsored plans — the highest annual rise in more than a decade, outside of pandemic years. From 2021 to 2025, Milliman’s national medical & pharmacy trend averaged...
