Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, PBC integrates with Rightway to lower prescription drug costs

Rightway is first PBM to integrate with Cost Plus Drugs, demonstrating its commitment to lowering the cost of prescription medications.

NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rightway, the healthcare company reinventing care navigation and pharmacy benefits, today announced its integration with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (Cost Plus Drugs), marking the first time a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) has added the pharmacy to its network. The relationship grants members of Rightway's PBM direct access to all medications available through Cost Plus Drugs.

Over the last two decades, employers have seen healthcare costs swell to become the second-largest line item on their PnLs. Pharmacy costs represent the fastest-growing component within that line item, much of the increase arising from the rigidity of pharmacy benefit management – 80% of prescriptions in the United States are managed by just three players. The PBM oligopoly has wielded their control to eradicate choice around prescription medications for both employers and patients, leaving them with few options to curb rising costs.

Cost Plus Drugs has built a parallel supply chain, sidestepping the limitations of the current landscape altogether and unlocking an unprecedented level of transparency and flexibility for consumers to fill their generic prescriptions. Unlike traditional arrangements between PBMs and pharmacies, the prices at Cost Plus Drugs are transparent and publicly available: all medications are priced at cost with a 15% markup. Prescriptions are delivered by mail, further lowering the cost per pill as mail-order medications are dispensed in greater quantities.

The integration into Rightway's modern PBM combines the transparent pricing of Cost Plus Drugs with Rightway's signature member experience, granting members direct access to the pharmacy from within the Rightway mobile app. Rightway's health guides will assist any members interested in transferring their medications, from answering their questions to coordinating with the provider on the member's behalf. Rightway aims to maximize access to low-cost options like Cost Plus Drugs, drastically minimizing spread pricing as the pharmacy continues to expand.

Multi-month supplies of generic medications are often prescribed to patients suffering from chronic conditions, which account for nearly 40% of the US population. Rightway's pharmacists will identify members, such as those with chronic conditions, who may benefit from the service and perform proactive outreach to help them transfer their medications if they choose to do so. By granting access to Cost Plus Drugs, Rightway expects to pass on significant cost savings to both members and plan sponsors.

"Rightway's relationship with Cost Plus Drugs demonstrates our commitment to making it as easy as possible for members to get the absolute lowest price available for their prescriptions," said Scott Musial, Chief Pharmacy Officer of Rightway. "Cost Plus Drugs offers some of the lowest prices in the market. It enables Rightway to step away from the traditional supply chain, offering our members greater choice, lowering their spending, and giving them back time they'd spend at the pharmacy. Entrants like Cost Plus Drugs are welcome warriors in the battle against sky-high drug prices."

"As a practicing physician I saw first-hand the danger of patients not taking their medications because they couldn't afford them," said CEO of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, Alex Oshmyansky, MD, PhD. "I founded the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company to help solve this problem and provide a way for patients to receive their medication at an affordable price. We already offer transparent, low prices to cash-pay consumers and are excited to now be working with Rightway to further reduce the cost to patients, and to keep the patient record complete from both a clinical and financial perspective."

Rightway harmonizes the entire healthcare system, creating a front door to care for over one million members. Its care navigation and PBM platforms get members to the highest quality of care and optimal therapies by inserting clinicians and pharmacists into their healthcare journey through a modern, mobile app. As the only solution spanning care navigation and pharmacy benefits, Rightway's unique data set enables a true panoramic patient view that informs "next-best-action" intelligence, delivered through one-on-one clinical guidance. Rightway's care navigation clients have a 15% reduction in their healthcare costs; employers who leverage Rightway's transparent PBM see an average of 18% savings on pharmacy spending in year one.

The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, PBC (Cost Plus Drugs) aims to fundamentally change the way the pharmaceutical industry operates. As a public-benefit corporation, its social mission of improving public health is just as important as the bottom line. Cost Plus Drugs transparently charges a standard markup on every drug it sells. The costplusdrugs.com online pharmacy launched in January 2022 now carries nearly 1,000 prescription products, delivered by mail to thousands of happy customers every day. Cost Plus Drugs is working with health plans, managed-care organizations, pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and self-insured employers to bring these same savings to employer-sponsored benefit plans nationwide.

RIGHTWAY CONTACT
Rita Lebedeva, VP of Product Marketing 
[email protected]

SOURCE Rightway