Prescription rebate guarantees: employer insights

To describe (1) rebate arrangements for specialty drugs, (2) the use and influence of benefits brokers and consultants, and (3) the importance of rebate-related factors when selecting a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) among a sample of employers with self-funded pharmacy benefits.

A national survey of employer drug benefit decision makers (N = 110) for organizations with self-insured pharmacy benefits.

We summarized respondents' current rebate agreements for specialty drugs and their perspectives on the importance of rebates and rebate guarantees overall as well as by type of rebate agreement and by the person or entity identified as most influential in rebate strategy.

Nearly two-thirds of employers reported having rebate agreements with a rebate guarantee for specialty drugs (n = 69; 62.7%). The person or entity most influential to rebate strategy decisions was often a benefits consultant (37.3%), a human resources/benefits leader (29.1%), or a benefits broker (21.8%). Employers with rebate guarantees ascribed a higher level of importance to guarantees when selecting a PBM (median [IQR], 9 [7-10]) than employers receiving rebates without a guarantee (7 [6-8]) and those who do not receive rebates (7.5 [4-9]) (P = .001).

These findings shed light on the importance of rebate guarantees and the role of employer benefits consultants and brokers in PBM selection. As the public discourse on PBMs and drug rebates continues, it is important to recognize the role employer benefits consultants may play in perpetuating employer reliance on guaranteed rebate arrangements.