An employer coalition to reduce costs and improve adherence

A coalition of employers based in Ohio is addressing statin utilization on multiple fronts. By working through a new pharmacy benefits manager, it reduced its costs for statins by 9 percent over the course of one year, chiefly by replacing a relatively high-cost statin with a lower-cost statin believed to be of similar efficacy. The coalition also has worked on an individual basis with high prescribers of a high-cost statin, requesting them to consider a lower-cost statin. That effort also has met with success. Meanwhile, the coalition has launched a mail-based program intended to improve adherence among patients taking statins.