Chris Crawford, CEO Rx Save Card
Rx Save Card announced in a press release that the company’s initial funding is now complete, thanks to a $1.7 million round led by healthcare venture firm Distributed Ventures. The card will be available starting January 1, 2025.
In today’s insurance market, employees have two options for purchasing prescription drugs: They can either pay for the drugs out of their own pocket using discount cards or they can bill their employer’s insurance company, which works through a Pharmacy Benefit Manager.
“In a PBM contract, the PBM restricts which pharmacies you can purchase medication from or which pharmacies your employees can purchase medication from,” explained Chris Crawford, co-founder and CEO of Rx Save Card, in an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive. “It also dictates the price the employer must pay for those medications.”
The Rx Save Card bridges the gap between these options. It is part of the pharmacy benefits included in the employer’s insurance plan. This card allows participating employers to load a pre-determined amount onto the card each month.
The employee can then choose to purchase the medication through their employer’s insurance or pay out of pocket. If the employee chooses to purchase a medication through their insurance, a claim will still be processed and the pharmacy will be paid at the point of sale.
If the employee chooses to pay out of pocket, the Rx Save Card automatically searches through offers from multiple discount cards so the employee can choose the most affordable option.
“In most cases, employees get a medication for free and the employer also saves money because they pay us for the same medication at the same pharmacy,” Crawford said.
In cases where the PBM option is cheaper, Crawford urges employees to take advantage of the better price.
“That’s the beauty of it – we don’t buy everything we need in our everyday lives in one store or one place. So why should we have the same attitude when it comes to prescription drugs?”
In total, over 65,000 pharmacies are participating. This includes online pharmacies such as the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company.
Crawford said a service like the Rx Save Card is especially relevant following the recent lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which alleged they failed to negotiate the lowest possible prices for the plan and participants in their PBM services agreement. The lawsuit goes on to say this resulted in higher premiums, deductibles, copayments and cost-sharing.
“The ERISA lawsuit made it clear that it’s unfair to consumers,” Crawford said. “If I’m paying for a drug as an individual and anyone without insurance could buy the exact same drug for a fraction of the price, then I’m harmed as an individual. We’re saying: If these drugs are cheaper with discount cards at your pharmacy, why should I pay more through my PBM? We’ve given employers a way to fund some of those payments.”
