RPB for pharmaceuticals creates a reference price for certain commonly used drugs. Plan sponsors agree to pay most of the cost for the reference drug, and members choose which drug they want prescribed. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Could the dawn of a new era is health plan drug purchasing mean the sun will soon set on the pharmaceutical benefits management (PBM) industry? New research on reference-based pricing (RBP) suggests that may be the case. And the CEO of a consulting firm that developed RBP technology says it will definitely be the case—although he’s not saying just when that will happen.

RBP will be “the disruptive force” in the employer plan pharmaceutical cost model, says David Henka, CEO of ActiveRADAR, maker of a technology that sets reference prices for commonly prescribed drugs. The technology was used by researchers to set reference prices for drugs in the study.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.

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