CVS Caremark 2020 Drug Trend Report

Connectivity, effective management strategies delivered client cost savings

Our world experienced an extraordinary amount of change last year. Everything and everyone weathered headwinds like never before including the health care system. It pushed our society to see and solve problems more clearly.

We weren’t immune to that pressure. We adapted our business, while continuing to focus on our key goal, keeping drug spend in check — delivering an overall drug trend of just 2.9 percent as well as negative trend for 34 percent of commercial pharmacy benefit management (PBM) clients.

Helping clients manage their spend is why we exist, and we’ll always remain focused on doing that. But we can do more. At the crux of the two forces of change this past year — the pandemic and a reckoning with social injustice — is the need to create equitable access to high-quality services for every American. As providers of pharmacy services to one in three Americans, we see a clear opportunity to help our country make real progress toward that goal.

Using analytics to guide pandemic preparedness and support

Preventing disruption within the pharmacy supply chain was a responsibility that we took very seriously last year.

See how we used analytics for pandemic preparedness

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine demand during the pandemic.

Number of people starting or intensifying therapy fell in April 2020

Tracking utilization during a period of foregone care

Routine and preventive care plummeted, making people less likely to start prescription drug therapy.

Read how the pandemic affected utilization of common chronic medications

Addressing historic health inequities

2020 forced a long-overdue reckoning on the factors that have historically created inferior health outcomes in communities of color.

See how we are helping address historic health inequities

A greying man sits down in his barber's chair with an overlay of a graphic reading, "Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, Black populations are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from heart disease"

0.6 percent trend for tightly managed clients.

Keeping drug costs manageable

We maintained our focus on client costs by driving to lowest net cost and appropriate utilization, delivering results.

Read how tightly managed clients had even lower drug trend

New drugs and new indications drive specialty

Specialty treatments, driven by utilization, are now the largest portion of pharmacy spend.

Learn more about new drugs and indications driving specialty spend

A husband and wife embrace out front of their home with an overlay of 98 percent of utilization increase is from conditions with new therapies and indications.

18 percent of clients had negative specialty trend.

Keeping specialty spend in check

Effective management strategies helped keep costs in check for tightly managed clients.

See how tightly managed clients kept specialty spend in check

Connectivity as a lever to reduce waste, lower costs

Our investments in connectivity helped maintain member engagement, leading to cost savings for clients.

Learn more about connectivity as a lever to reduce waste and lower costs

A woman wearing workout gear sits on outdoor steps to use her phone with an overlay graphic indicating 85 percent of member signed up to receive digital communications.

A graphic displaying statistics: 72 drugs removed in 2020. $1.2 billion lower client spend compared to 2018.

Tackling hyperinflation

We proactively manage hyperinflated drugs for our clients delivering savings through cost avoidance.

Learn how we are proactively eliminating waste on hyperinflated drugs

Reducing out-of-pocket costs, a typical barrier to adherence

We kept drugs affordable for members out of-pocket-costs declined for sixth straight year.

Learn more about reducing member out-of-pocket costs

$9.63, the out-of-pocket cost for a member’s per a 30 days’ supply.

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Staying ahead of the evolving pharmacy landscape

Marketplace trends will require a new — and focused — way of delivering service to our clients.

See what we are tracking in an evolving pharmacy landscape

To read more about the pharmacy benefit and how to manage drug spend, visit CVS Health Payor Solutions.

Trend Methodology

This report provides an overview of performance for CVS Health commercial PBM clients — employers and health plans. Data was calculated on a cohort of nearly 1,100 clients, covering 23 million lives. The cohort is built only on clients under our management throughout all of 2019 and 2020, excluding commercial clients with eligibility shifts exceeding 20 percent as well as any clients contractually prohibited from inclusion. Prescription drug trend is the measure of growth in prescription spending per member per month. Unless otherwise noted, reported data is net of negotiated pricing, rebates, and manufacturer discounts.

General Disclaimers

The source for data in this document is CVS Health Enterprise Analytics, unless otherwise noted.

Adherence results may vary based upon a variety of factors such as plan design, demographics and programs adopted by the plan.

Client-specific modeling available upon request.

Savings will vary based upon a variety of factors including things such as plan design, demographics and programs implemented by the plan.

CVS Health uses and shares data as allowed by applicable law, and by our agreements and our information firewall.

This page contains trademarks or registered trademarks of CVS Pharmacy, Inc. and/or one of its affiliates.