Addressing Rising Health Care Costs

If the current trajectory of spending continues, national health expenditures will account for one-fifth of our GDP by 2025.Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data: https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical.html To address this national priority, CVS Health is implementing comprehensive solutions to help rein in rising costs and expand affordable care options for health care consumers.

Tackling Rising Drug Prices

The average price of brand medicines has increased by 58% over the past five years -- representing average list price increases of more than $130.IQVIA Institute: https://www.iqvia.com/institute/reports/medicine-use-and-spending-in-the-us-review-of-2017-outlook-to-2022 To minimize the impact of higher drug costs for both patients and payors, we’re committed to expanding visibility into lower-cost alternatives and are working to promote competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace.

Managing Chronic Disease

The rate of chronic disease in the U.S. is higher than much of the developed world and represents a significant driver of health care costs. If Americans continue to be impacted by complex diseases such as obesity, diabetes and heart conditions at the current rate, the overall cost to our health care system will reach $42 trillion between now and 2030.Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease Report: https://www.fightchronicdisease.org/latest-news/new-national-data-shows-projected-total-cost-chronic-disease-2016-2030-america-42 Recognizing our role as a front door to health care in 10,000 U.S. communities, we are helping address chronic disease costs and improve patient health outcomes by expanding access to affordable treatments and improving medication adherence.

Expanding Access to Affordable Care

Research shows that American families rank the cost of health care as their most critical financial issue.Gallup Survey: http://news.gallup.com/poll/212780/cost-healthcare-americans-top-_nancial-tconcern.aspx What’s more is that many Americans lack regular and reliable access to health care facilities. At CVS Health, we’re providing access to low-cost, high-quality health care through our pharmacies, retail clinics and in patients’ homes. For example, our 1,100 MinuteClinics provide up to 80% lower cost of care on average compared to emergency rooms.

Improving Care Coordination

When different parts of the health care system take a siloed approach to patient care, it can lead to expensive waste and inefficiencies. In fact, waste represents approximately one-fifth of all health care spending.OECD Report: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/12/shocking-truth-20-of-health-care-expenditures-wasted-in-us-and-other-nations.html

We’re committed to partnering across the health care system to improve care coordination and integration. We have established more than 70 collaborations with large health systems to advance joint clinical programs and interoperable electronic health records. In addition, we are helping to reduce preventable hospital readmissions by improving transitions in care.

For more information about CVS Health’s efforts to lower health care costs across the nation, visit our Cost of Care information center and the CVS Health Impact Dashboard. To stay informed about the latest updates and innovations from CVS Health, register for content alerts and our bi-weekly health care newsletter.