A new self-service tool for employers and brokers aims to make the RFP process for pharmacy benefit plans a little easier.
RxChoice, launched by pharmacy benefit pricing and analytics company Truveris, enables benefit plan sponsors and brokers to generate free pharmacy benefit quotes from pharmacy benefit management companies and award contracts in minutes.
It eliminates the need for an RFP because its a one-stop shop, says Bryan Birch, CEO of Truveris. The plan sponsor can see how much they would save by moving to one of the PBM partners in the marketplace.
PBMs on the system Optum, Envision, Caremark and Catamaran bid on the contracts and if the bid is accepted by the plan sponsor, the system generates a Truveris-reviewed contract. The process can be completed in as little as 20 minutes, says Birch, whereas a traditional RFP process can take months.
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Theres no cost to brokers or employers to use the tool. Payments are made by the PBMs on the system to Truveris, based on contracts that are awarded. Since the tools soft launch two months ago, RxChoice has generated 150 bids with nine contracts awarded.
The system is similar to Truveris TruBid system, launched in 2012, for large self-insured employers. Birch says RxChoice is most appropriate for employers with fewer than 5,000 employees.
It eliminates the administrative burden for PBMs greatly because they no longer have to use their underwriting team and their staff to get bids out the door. It all happens electronically, says Birch.
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And as plan sponsors and brokers look to finalize PBM contracts in time to award plans with a January 2015 start date, the tool could come in handy. Even an employer with Jan. 1 benefits who thinks they dont have time to run an RFP to change [PBMs] for 1/1, theres still time to do that because awards can be made today, says Birch.
