Plan Sponsors Highly Satisfied with Pharmacy Benefit Managers

Pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) satisfaction continues to increase among plan sponsors, according to the 2017 PBM Customer Satisfaction Report published by The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI).

Included in the 2017 study were responses for 585 plan sponsors who represent more than 60 million insured individuals.

“We’ve tracked the market now for more than twenty years and watched pharmacy benefit managers evolve in the products and services that they provide to their customers,” said Jane Lutz, executive director, PBMI.

In 2017, the investigators found that PBMs ranked 7.9 out of 10 compared with a score of 7.8 in 2016, highlighting continued success among these companies, according to the PBMI. Notably, 84% of plan sponsors indicated that PBM goals aligned with their own.

Respondents ranked retail network options 8.5 out of 10, making it the highest ranked core PBM function, according to the study. For noncore service, formulary management also ranked high, at 7.8.

The authors reported that the highest rated specialty management function for 2017 was a tie between delivery of promised services, utilization management programs, and financial reporting.

This year also saw a slight increase in the category of service dimensions, with meets financial guarantees increasing from 8.0 in 2016 to 8.1 in 2017, according to the study.

PBMI reports that health benefits executives should use their findings to research, select, and manage PBM services for their programs, according to the study.

“As the pharmacy benefit landscape continues to become more complex and competitive, customer satisfaction is more important now than ever before,” Lutz said. “Alignment of goals and programs that provide cost savings as well as quality of service is paramount.”