Patient groups urge CVS Health to drop program targeting costly drugs

Published September 12, 2018 8:01pm ET



Nearly 100 patient groups urged CVS Caremark on Wednesday to reverse a decision allowing clients to drop coverage for expensive drugs that don’t meet a cost-effectiveness threshold.

The new policy from CVS Health’s pharmacy benefit arm comes as the Trump administration undertakes a broader effort to lower drug costs. The company plans to focus its new evaluations on treatments with price tags over $100,000 that do not result in better quantity and quality of life. It will base coverage decisions on analysis from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a nonprofit routinely blasted by the pharmaceutical lobby.

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